Filling the Gaps
by Puck's Favourite Girl
Summary: Tony looked at him, bold and true and utterly sincere, "Kid, I'm on your side, no matter what." Like most good things, it started with an accident. Well, kinda. This is a story about how a snarky, emotionally stunted genius became more than a mentor and how a just-trying-to-figure-it-out, superkid became the son he never had. No matter how empty our hearts are, love fills the gaps.
1. Grade Eleven

"Access denied." F.R.I.D.A.Y announced as though Peter didn't already know that what he was doing was absolutely not allowed.

"FRI, come on, you gotta do me a solid just this once." Peter pleaded, bringing his hands together in a pleading gesture as though that would make any difference to a completely rational, emotionally void AI.

"I'm sorry Peter, but you do not have the clearance to access these files." FRIDAY at least had the shame to sound just a little sorry but Peter's cheeks puffed up anyway.

Why couldn't it just be Karen that was wired up in there? She'd be much more helpful he was sure. Falling back into the tall armchair, Peter took in Tony's expansive and highly impressive computer lab, with just enough holograms and blue tinted floating figures to look like something right out of a sci-fi novel. Peter already knew half of what was in the room was just for show; it gave Tony a kick to see all the awe at pretty, but entirely useless, things. Plus, he just liked the aesthetic. But more important than the cool décor, was the gigantic screen connected to a supercomputer which he _knew_ held all the visual and auditory data from the bane of his entire existence.

Stupid Baby Monitor Protocol.

Peter was a smart kid. He knew that it was just a precaution, that it was to keep him safe, not to mention how useful it was to look for clues when your bad guy got away, and that it wasn't even that invasive to his privacy since Tony typically didn't even see most of it. He just had the recordings sent to FRIDAY who scanned them for any red flags- The You Better Not Have Protocol- and only if his trusted assistant thought there was an emergency would Tony be alerted. The problem though, was that Peter knew for a fact that sometimes, Tony just breezed through them to make sure his systems were working fine and that Peter himself was keeping to his word about being the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman. Which _meant_ that there was a chance, albeit a tiny, insignificant, miniscule chance, that Tony would see what had happened earlier that day and that just could not happen.

He was pretty sure he'd rather die. Or at least let the earth swallow him right up or even better, get thrown into space with the other weirdos who chilled up there. It was all a very unfortunate series of events involving a web malfunction, being stuck in a compromising position, and some very mean spirited and utterly terrible preteens who feared no God or authority. Tony would never let him live it down if he saw and so, Peter had undertaken the very risky mission of deleting the footage without anyone knowing. And if FRIDAY could just cooperate damn it, it would go a whole lot smoother! Peter swiveled in the chair, sighing dramatically as he tried to brainstorm a way in. He caught sight of his suit sticking out from his backpack and stopped swiveling, something of an idea blooming in his mind. Reaching out for his mask, he pulled it over his head, smiling as he heard Karen's greeting.

"Hey Karen, could you do me a favor?"

"Of course Peter, how can I assist you?"

Hearing her helpful voice, Peter thought he could literally cry. See, this is how you make a helpful AI. Take that FRIDAY.

"Ok listen, you know how if I'm like, in really big danger, you can access the database to find any information on what's endangering me to help me fight it better?"

That was actually a really cool update Tony installed for him. After a particular mishap following the Homecoming mishap (yes, yes he _knew_ he gave Tony heart problems) involving a HYDRA agent, his super freaky power of illusions, and a long list of injuries later, Tony's heart nearly just gave in right then and there. Turned out, the Avengers, back when they were together, had taken out that same guy and landed him in some top security prison. But as it goes in the world of superheroes and supervillains, he escaped, and was unleashed unto the public once more where Peter had intercepted him. During the fight, Peter had gotten incapacitated to the point where Karen had to automatically call Tony, which was, as usual, super embarrassing, and besides, he was literally fine- really, the fainting was just for a second anyway- and when Tony came, he kicked ass, as usual, and then went on a rant about how he was a complete idiot for not adding in a Previously On feature because _obviously_ this whole situation would've been avoided if Peter had had access to all their battle records. So…Tony made it, and put it in.

Apparently he had spent a solid 58 hours in his lab working on the code and the filters and the triggering mechanism and Peter felt so awfully guilty about it he dragged his mentor out of the tower to see some sunlight and enjoy a good old fashioned American cheeseburger for his hard work. Peter appreciated it obviously, how seriously Tony took his health and safety that he jeopardized his own health to deal with it, but drastic times called for drastic measures! For all of Tony's genius and foresight, Peter was sure Tony hadn't acknowledged that the information connection was definitely a two way street. And honestly, outsmarting the cockiest genius he knew (well the only genius he knew) gave him such a smug feeling, Peter couldn't help but grin.

"Karen, I need you to access the files now to help me find…" well…it didn't really matter which villain he chose, but he supposed he should just go with what he knew Tony had faced so he'd save time, "HYDRA. Everything about them."

"You are not in any immediate danger Peter, nor are you engaging in a battle with any member of HYDRA."

 _Technicalities_.

Peter bit his lip, "Karen, I've been suspecting HYDRA activity in the neighbourhood for a while now and I feel that if I'm prepared now, then obviously, when the time comes, I'll be in less danger. Mr. Stark would want me to be safe, aren't you coded to keep me safe?" even though she couldn't see him, Peter was doing his best doe eyes and crossing his fingers, hoping this would work.

A beat, and then, "Keeping you safe is my protocol. Very well."

"Oh my gosh thanks so much Karen, you're the best!" he gushed, sitting back down on the chair, "Could you use the screen as a display?"

The screen turned on in response, showing a never-ending list of battles, profiles, and case reports. The list quickly diminished though as the machine did its work of weeding through the rabble to find the HYDRA files. When it was done, Peter couldn't help but be awed by how many battles the Avengers had fought and won. They were incredible. "Karen, please display Spiderman files."

The screen quickly shifted to show any recording labeled Spiderman, and he quickly found the one he was looking for, helpfully marked with a literal red flag courtesy of Karen. "I literally love you, do you know that?"

Karen laughed, "Thank you Peter, I care for you as well. Would you like me to delete the file?"

Peter almost cried in relief. "Yes please. I never want to see that stupid video ever again."

As the little circle got fuller and fuller as the file got deleted, Peter was surprised to notice some more footage with the Spiderman label, but from the Iron Man suit. "Mr. Stark has the Baby Monitor Protocol too?"

"He doesn't call it that. But yes, Mr. Stark records everything as well in the suit."

Peter could literally _feel_ the excitement bubble up inside him. "Oh man, oh maaaaan, Mr. Stark isn't gonna know what hit him when I'm done with this. Karen, are there any files Mr. Stark wants to hide, like super embarrassing stuff? Maybe like, him crash landing or something?" Peter was finally going to pay back his mentor for the suffering he had endured.

He was going to make him suffer the humiliation he had! It was only fair. What was that famous Iron Man quote? If Peter couldn't protect his dignity, then he would damn sure avenge it!

"I'm sorry Peter, there's no filter for that."

Peter's head sunk. "Figures."

"Fine, that's okay Karen, how about just showing me all the Iron Man files?"

The screen changed again, and Peter noticed how the recordings were all categorized by Mark. It was then he noticed that there was one Mark that only had a short-term use, around the same time Tony had first reached out to Peter actually. Every other suit had long term usage, but that one had such a short life span it was suspicious. Maybe he tinkered with it too much and it imploded? Or maybe it just fell apart? Or maybe it assembled really funny? The possibilities were really endless, and Peter just couldn't help himself as he clicked on it. Yeah, it was an invasion of privacy, but it's not like Tony didn't look through his visual feed whenever he felt like it and saved the mortifying bits to play for him later so he could cackle at his shame, so what was the harm? It was all in good fun.

So, Peter clicked it open and immediately knew he shouldn't have.

The suit went online and from the perspective of Mr. Stark, it looked like he was traveling. Peter fast forwarded through the travels, stopping as a run down warehouse type place entered into view. A swell of trepidation swirled in his gut. Everything looked super creepy, utterly abandoned and dark and wet. But as always, Mr. Stark walked with an unequivocal confidence, like he knew exactly where he was going though there was no way he could've. He reached a door and pushed it open with both hands and Peter was startled to see the battle-ready faces of Captain America and…the Winter Soldier.

Without really needing to know, Peter knew exactly what he was watching, and knew with one hundred percent certainty that he should turn it off right that second. But seeing Cap's face, with his guarded expression, his defensive crouch, the shield that symbolized freedom scratched and ready to fight aimed at Tony…he couldn't make himself look away. He couldn't.

"You seem a little defensive." Typical Tony, always quick with the quip even in the face of danger.

"It's been a long day."

Peter could see Tony's hand gesture for peace in the Winter Soldier's direction, "At ease soldier, I'm not currently after you."

"Then why are you here?" Cap still looks wary, cautious, too on edge.

There's a pause, and then, "Maybe your story's not so crazy…maybe." And Peter can hear the slight resignation, the subtle shift from the typical outer personality of the cocky domineering Stark to the man Peter knew him to be, a leader, a team-player, just a man.

A man who cared too much but didn't always know how to show it.

"Ross has no idea I'm here, I'd like to keep it that way." Peter's eyes widened a little at that.

He didn't know much about what happened in Siberia, about what happened after the battle at the airport. What he did know, was that the Rogue Avengers had been jailed, that Steve was a fugitive, and that talking with him would surely mean prison for Tony too. Claims of treason and aiding and abetting. Tony was adamant about the Accords, so why would he risk everything to meet with them?

He heard the Captain and Tony joke, heard how they said, "It's nice to see you." And "You too." And knows that all those pleasantries must have meant nothing, if Tony had come back looking like he had and the Captain not at all.

"Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me." Tony snarks, pointing at the gun still aimed at his head with a look of utter fatigue, "There's a truce here. You can drop the weapon." He says exasperatedly.

And suddenly, the three of them are walking and the camera shakes and Peter could feel his stomach clench. Something was going to happen. Something was going to happen. Something bad. He didn't need enhanced senses to know that. He watched as they confronted giant containers filled with eerie yellow liquid and dead super soldiers. Peter felt bile rush to the top of his throat. He watched as the unknown man ranted about how he lured the three of them there and the anxiety in his stomach tightened and tightened and he felt like he wanted to scream at the screen as though his voice could echo all the way to the past.

"An empire that crumbles from its enemies can rise again…But an empire that crumbles from within…" Peter jumped as a small screen flicks on, its light flickering ominously in the dark room. "That's dead. Forever." The man finished and the Iron Man suit stumbled toward the screen.

"I know that road." And Peter heard it, heard how Tony's voice shook just a little, just a bit, just enough to know that this is where it begins and ends.

"What is this!" he demanded, but he sounded like he was going to be sick, somewhere in between terror and denial, his voice too loud, edging on a truth he didn't want to confront.

The man didn't answer, and Peter watched with Tony, as a car drove by the camera and hit a tree. The hood of the car crunched upwards and bent while smoke clouds the air. A motorcyclist rolled around it. A man collapsed out the broken door, his body hitting the ground, barely able to push himself up on his forearms. Peter could just make out his begging, begging for the life of his wife, before a familiar figure strode up and his whole body froze. No way. No way no way no way. The Winter Soldier pulled the man up by his neck. Peter saw the familiarity in the man's eyes, "Sargent Barnes?"

"Howard!" A woman begged.

And then Peter knew.

And he couldn't stop his hands from rushing to his mouth as he watched in horror while the Winter Soldier murdered Tony's parents. Oh God oh God oh God. Tony turned to Steve, who was looking at him like he was trying to tame something wild, something out of control. But just as suddenly, Tony launched towards Bucky but Steve was faster, grabbing him by the arm, "Tony, Tony," he pleaded.

And Tony stopped. He stopped, because his friend asked him to and he whispered something devastating and Peter could _hear_ the pain in his voice, could hear every subtlety and nuance, every hurt and repressed memory. "Did you know."

"I didn't know it was him." Steve finally said, intent and insistent.

"Don't bullshit me Rogers. Did you know." Tony bit, voice seething with a barely contained grief, a barely contained rage.

Steve hesitated, Peter can see the emotions fly around his face before the finality of his assertive, "Yes."

Tony lurched away from him and there was a moment where the world stood still before Tony's fist backhanded the captain with a savagery Peter had never seen before. Steve flew across the floor. The Winter Soldier brought his gun up, but Tony was faster, sending a repulsor blast towards him and suddenly, they were all battling. Tony was punching and being punched and Cap was throwing his shield and Barnes was breaking Tony's gauntlet. Tony fired up his repulsors, readying to launch into the sky to catch up to Barnes before Steve's voice caught him, "It wasn't him Tony. HYDRA had control of his mind."

But Tony was too enraged, too emotional, too compromised, to listen to excuses that would call on the compassion he had just seen die on the screen. Peter watched helplessly as Tony attacked Barnes and as Steve wrapped a coil around his neck that sent him careening back to the floor like he was an animal. Tony aimed his missile and Peter couldn't help the little, "No!" that came out his mouth, don't kill him, don't kill him.

But Tony doesn't. He could have. But he didn't. He broke the lever holding the roof in place so that it collapsed down and closed any route of escape. Peter was breathing heavily now and so thankful. So utterly thankful. Tony flew up, catching Barnes from behind, "Do you even remember them?" he whispered like it physically hurts to say the words.

"I remember all of them" Bucky gasped.

And Tony was flying them down before Steve barreled into them and they all went crashing to the ground. Steve was looking at him imploringly, "This isn't gonna change what happened."

But Peter could hear the lack of regard for anything, could physically hear how little Tony thought of that truth. "I don't care. He killed my mom." And that _hurt_.

That hurt Peter more than anything. Because he knew, he _knew_ what it felt like, to be so frustratingly, agonizingly angry at the person who took the person you loved more than anything away. Remembered how after the grief and the despair faded, he was left with a burning anger to right an unforgivable wrong. But he had May, and he had Ned, and much much later, Tony himself. Who did Tony have?

Steve?

And the two were fighting again. But Mr. Stark was losing. He was on his knees, he was against the wall, Barnes' fingers digging into the suit and pulling out the reactor. Peter's hands clenched around his seat. He couldn't pull out the reactor. That powered the suit. Tony needed the suit. He needed it in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of all the snow, stop it…stop it! And then Tony blew off Barnes' arm and the fighting got worse and just when it looked like it was over…it wasn't.

"He's my friend." Steve said.

"So was I."

The silence was deafening.

And suddenly the suit was on the floor and Peter was looking up into the enraged face of Captain America as he brought down his mighty shield right into Tony's chest. As sparks burst from Tony's reactor like Steve had just broken his heart, he had the audacity to look mournful.

The video sputtered as Tony struggled to get up before collapsing back down. Everything went quiet and the screen turned black. Peter continued to stare, didn't know what else to do, didn't know what to feel. He understood now, why Tony wouldn't keep that suit anymore. And he understood now, why Tony stiffened when he heard Steve's name, why he always looked worn out with regret, the achingly sad expression he'd get sometimes when he thought Peter wasn't looking. He knew why Tony kept everything so hidden, why he wouldn't say anything to anyone.

Steve and Tony were fire and wind, they just made each other explosive.

Tony shouldn't have attacked, but he'd just seen his parents get killed. Had just found out his closest friend and team-mate had known all along and never told him, found out that he wasn't nearly as important to that friend as he thought he was, when it came down to that critical moment, when it came down to that ride or die point. They had both chosen die. But Cap lied. He lied to Tony's face and when it came down to it, he didn't even have the guts to say sorry, to try and calm Tony down instead of antagonizing him more. If Barnes really was mind controlled, and the very thought of that terrified Peter, then it wasn't his fault, if anything, he was the real victim. But it didn't change what he did. Didn't invalidate Tony's anger either. Didn't make any of what happened okay. Steve had crushed him. And then taken his whole family away. Bringing down a firestorm of devastation across every angle.

A betrayal only hurts as deeply as the love that runs beneath.

"Th-that's enough Karen. Close everything." He whispered, tugging off his mask so he could breathe.

He needed to get out of there. He needed to…he couldn't be here, he couldn't let Mr. Stark know what he'd done. He couldn't-

Peter grabbed his backpack, half running out the room and back to the elevator. He actually made it there before it pinged open and Tony Stark himself cocked his head up, his face opening in a pleasantly surprised smile, and then a quick flat stare. "Kid, if you're here again to ask me to give you the ability to fly, you're kidding yourself. You get into way too much trouble as it is."

Peter was so thrown off-guard he practically forgot his plethora of mixed feelings as his arms flailed around, "But Mr. Stark, it'd be so cool! And it even fits the theme! There are plenty of flying spiders!"

"Nice try Wonder Kid, but spiders can only glide. So technically, your little webbing thing is pretty biologically accurate." Tony retorted, walking past him, his only sign he wanted to be followed a quick tilt of his head.

Stumbling, Peter followed him, head bent as he bit his lip, trying to keep his cool. What to say what to say. How do you be there for someone when you shouldn't know they needed anyone at all? Tony however, seemed to be in a practically giddy mood and looked smug as he said, "But since you're here, I might as well show you something I've been working on for a while."

It's too nonchalant really, as though Tony doesn't know that being shown Stark Science wasn't one of Peter's Top Five Coolest Things ever, right after meeting Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamil, and Harrison Ford together, in costume, at a screening of all the original Star Wars movies.

Peter perked up, trying hard to force down what he had just seen and try and focus on Tony in the present. But he must not have been able to do a good job judging by the slight furrow in Tony's brows and the hand that clasped his shoulder firmly, like steadying a rocking boat. "You're not hiding another injury are you kid?" At Peter's silence, Tony groaned, massaging his temples, "Pete, you're killing me."

Peter quickly brought his hands up in placating gesture, "No, no! I'm fine! Honest Mr. Stark, I'm not hurt I'm just…" he trailed off, not quite sure how to say that his heart felt like lead in his chest and how Steve's rage filled eyes as he slammed his shield down into Tony's chest refused to leave his mind.

But Tony seemed to understand, in the way that someone who's ended too many sentences that way could and squeezed his shoulder before letting him go. "Something on your mind?" and he sounded distant enough, but Peter could tell by the way he slowed his step to be more aligned to his and how Tony took off his sunglasses to get a better look at him that he was paying far more attention than he would want to admit.

Something swelled within Peter at that moment. Affection maybe. Peter looked at him and felt way too much in his heart that he wished he could throw his arms around him. But he couldn't. So he did his best to smile as hard as he could because even though everyone else was gone, _he was still there_. And he would do everything to always be there. "It's just a little overwhelming sometimes you know? Being Spiderman and Peter Parker and everything." He waved his hand around in a vague gesture.

But just as suddenly, he grinned, wide eyed and flush with sincerity, "But nothing science can't fix! What are we doing today? Should I be freaking out?"

Tony stared at him with scrutiny, but, content with the genuine excitement in his protégé's face, he laughed, bright and sharp, "Get ready to be blown away kid."

Tony led him to Workshop B, a tinkering shop for not super serious projects and one that was big and spacious. It had been redecorated though, a whole corner of it segmented off with two large desks filled with crates of vials and beakers and a whole cabinet of chemicals along the wall. But what really shook Peter was the Spiderman logo spray-painted on the wall. Suddenly, despite being quite good at it for the past fifteen years, Peter forgot how to breathe. "No way. No way. No WAAYYY." He whirled around, "Mr. Stark are you serious? Holy shit Ned is gonna _flip_ oh my God." His voice was getting breathy and Tony's eyes crinkled as he gestured around the room.

"It had come to my attention that you had been making your webbing during school like some kind of science criminal and I just can't have you blowing up a centre of education because you were too busy ogling Pretty Whatsherface or getting distracted by whatever nerdy thing you and Ed-"

"Ned."

"-Fred get up to. So," he pointed to his corner, "Consider this your personal lab space. This is quality real estate kid so I would take advantage of it."

Peter stopped then, some actual thought finally bursting his way through his flood of freaking out. Engineering was Tony's religion and his labs his temples. It was a big deal for Tony to be letting him into that space, of letting him use his tools and supplies and give him the opportunity to make mistakes or brilliant successes. It was more than just a corner of the lab. Peter swallowed hard, thinking about how the Avengers had once been in this tower, shared the space, lived like a family. And how devastatingly empty it all was now.

Opening your life to people didn't mean people wouldn't close theirs.

"Thanks Mr. Stark. This is…this is amazing." Peter said, his eyes brimming with a sincerity that got Tony in his chest harder than he thought it would.

Tony coughed, allergic to emotions as he was, and half turned. "It's really just an insurance policy. Can't have you blowing up the school in the name of vigilantism." He replied gruffly, but Peter grinned anyway because he was good at reading between the lines.

He had good emotional intelligence you see. Someone between the two of them had to. Tony seemed to be struggling with some sort of internal battle before he awkwardly clapped Peter on the shoulder. "I got everything you said you used for your formula, but if you want to mess around with it or decide to be more of a menace and make something else cool and freaky, you have my blessing to go nuts. This isn't just for Spiderman, it's for Peter Parker too." If possible, Peter felt his grin widen.

"But!" Tony declared, and he looked sterner, "There's some ground rules you gotta follow if you're going to keep lab privileges alright?"

Peter nodded seriously, already half not listening as he fantasized about all the cool stuff he was gonna make, "Yeah, of course, of course."

"First! Always run new combinations of chemicals and whatnot past FRIDAY. She'll let you know if anything has a chance of exploding." He pointed towards a sign Peter hadn't really noticed before with a messily scrawled EIGHT DAYS SINCE LAST EXPLOSION written on it, "As you can see, we have a winning streak for safety."

Peter snorted and even Tony couldn't help a little quirk of the lip, "If you want to try something dangerous, wait for me and do _not_ , I repeat _not,_ try anything you _know_ is gonna go bad you understand me? I do not need a medium rare child in my tower do you understand me?"

Peter couldn't help but feel a little indignant. "Yes Mr. Stark." He mumbled.

Satisfied, Tony nodded. "Okay then, what do you say we get to work?"

"You're going to work too?"

"Did you think I was just going to sit here and look pretty?"

"Well the sitting part yeah, but between the two of us, I'm definitely the looks." Peter said it before he really thought about it and for a split second panicked because oh my god he had just snarked Tony Stark, he was going to EAT him.

But instead, Mr. Stark's face went comically shocked, like he never expected Peter to be anything but ridiculously polite before he burst out laughing. "Excuse you, I'm simultaneously the brains, the looks, AND the brawn. You're still an itty bitty spider trying to climb up the water spout."

Peter grinned, unable to help himself, "Sure Mr. Stark, whatever helps you sleep at night. I'm pretty sure I can stop a truck on a highway with just my bare hands but okay." He shrugged and just laughed more when Tony chucked a blueberry at his head from the pack on his desk.

Mr. Stark must have been feeling generous that day, because he let Peter have the last word and went straight into sketching on his interactive table screen. Peter didn't know what it was, but it was sure to be super mindblowing. He however, just went to work in creating the original fluid formula that he constantly needed to replace. It was an hour into the engineering process that Peter remembered with a start, everything that happened earlier and how ridiculously easy it was to forget when Tony had been acting like the Tony he knew and had admired since he was little. He glanced up at his mentor from the corner of his eye, watching as he scrunched his eyes together in thought, his fingers stroking his beard. Peter wanted to say something, but didn't know what he could possibly do about something he was never supposed to know about. Couldn't even think about what to say even if he was allowed to know.

Peter was so lost in thought that it took another blueberry to the face for Tony to get his attention, "Earth to Spiderling."

Peter jumped, "Sorry Mr. Stark! Were you saying something?"

Tony crossed his arms, "Ninety percent of what I say is quotable, it's a criminal offense to ignore it."

Peter rolled his eyes, "That's the kind of line you'd seen on an incorrectquotes blog."

Tony smirked, "See? Quotable." He shifted back to his work, "But what I was saying before was pretty mundane. Just asking what was up, how's life, you know, the basics." He said carefully, as though Peter would be offended.

The opposite was true though, Peter perked up, practically bouncing in his seat, "Well the other day, I caught this guy who stole this lady's purse by flipping over an entire _building_ and it was just, so cool and like, someone actually clapped and it just felt…I don't know." He looked down, shy all of the sudden, "I don't know, it just felt pretty cool."

Tony smiled knowingly, looking up at him, "Like you were a real hero right?"

Peter blushed, ducking his head. It was super dumb, he knew, he had done bigger, more heroic things technically, but there was something about doing something you had never done and having the people you were helping actually acknowledge it that just gave him the sort of super happy light feeling he didn't associate a lot with being a hero who mostly helped the elderly cross the street and return lost bikes.

"Yeah."

"And what about school stuff? Still on the decathlon team?"

Peter was surprised he switched the subject from Spiderman stuff. "That stuff's super boring Mr. Stark, you don't have to-"

"Do I look like the kinda guy who cares about have to's?" he retorted lightheartedly, but they both knew it was a lie.

Tony looked uncomfortable for a moment, like he was torn between saying something or not. Finally, he grimaced, neutralized his face, and then tried again. "I don't just care about Spiderman you know, I-" his lip curled in frustration, like he was annoyed at himself for not being able to say the words right, "I want to be on your team you know? On your side." He stared pointedly, "I feel like we have some sort of good mentor/mentee thing going on and it's not just about superhero stuff, unless that's what you want then-"

Peter' was touched, because he'd always wondered a little, if he was reading too much into things, but it was really nice, that Tony felt the need to clarify that Peter was just as important as Spiderman. So, deciding to be altruistic, Peter threw him a line. "School's okay. We're in that super great low period because our quarterly tests are done and the teachers are too tired to work us so hard, so that's cool."

He saw the instant relief on Mr. Stark's face now that they've passed their little moment and hid his amusement, "And Decathlon is fun and all but it's really hard to be everywhere at once you know?" he was quiet for a moment, "But I'm trying really hard this semester. I don't wanna let the team down again you know?"

"Yeah, I get that." Tony set his pen down. "You gotta learn to balance all of this stuff kid. Family, school, friends, webbing down the streets of Queens. Being Spiderman is great, and you're doing real good work. But you're still a kid. You should enjoy it you know, go to nerdy conventions, take a pretty girl out on a date." He waves his hand in the air as though to gesture and the list goes on and on, "Queens won't crumble to the ground because you let yourself have fun once in a while."

"I know that." Peter fiddled with a syringe, "I do. It's just…what if something bad happens, and I could've stopped it?" he stopped moving, unable to meet Tony's eyes.

Tony sighed, looking much older than he was. "Listen Peter, I'm going to be honest to you, because sugar-coating it isn't going to do you any favors. The worst part about being a hero, is that sometimes you don't get there in time and sometimes even when you do, it's not enough. But here's the thing, it's not all on you. We're all doing our part to keep this world safe and even if you can't be there, someone else will be. That's how it works. You can't save the world alone. Just try and remember that for me will you?"

Peter couldn't help but notice how genuine Tony looks. His body still as he waited for Peter's response, the conviction he held in the evenness of his tone and the strength of his gaze. Slowly, Peter nodded his head. "I'll try."

"Good. Take yourself and your friend out somewhere neat, on me."

"Mr. Stark you don't have to-" and they were back to their banter.

Tony made a zip it motion, "That was not a request, FRIDAY, did that sound like a request to you?"

"No boss, sounded like an order to me." The AI unhelpfully supplied.

Tony nodded. "That's exactly what I thought. Kid?" he asked, looking at him expectantly.

Peter just groaned.

Later, when had set up several cannisters of his fluid and Tony had to leave for a dinner meeting, Peter looked around at their crushed soda cans and snack bags littered across the tables and thought that maybe the place didn't look so empty anymore. He thought back to the image of Captain America bringing his shield down into Tony's heart. Thought about how everyone had left and knew he was going to do everything he could to stay. Tony had said he was on his side. Well, Peter was going to be on his side too.

* * *

That, Peter thought, was probably the beginning of everything. Sure after the whole disaster with the plane and the Vulture, Tony and Happy had both been more available over phone and Peter was given access to the tower for emergencies, but it wasn't like they'd been any closer than before. But for whatever reason, Tony had decided to open his life up to him, and Peter wasn't going to waste that opportunity for anything. That meant though, that he had to learn balance just like Tony told him he would have to learn, if he was going to add a weekly lab visit to his already long list of things to do and places to be.

Mostly though, it was just nice. Happy was still his point person for most things, but he knew Mr. Stark listened to his voicemails himself from how a mysterious reply recording would always appear on his phone every once in a while. They were never particularly long or anything, but they were just… nice.

"Hey kid, good job with the bank bust the other day. It's always good when you can save the day without causing a lot of damage to any infrastructure. Kudos. You obviously did not learn from the best, so I really have no idea where you got it from." Tony chuckled at his own joke before his signature, "Ok that's enough praise, stay out of trouble, and don't bite off more than you can chew okay Underoos?"

Other times, he just got yelled at.

"Hello Mr. Parker, I was just leaving you this super non-aggressive message to remind you that you have a suit curfew of one a.m. except that I got a notification saying you were out till _four_ and did you or did you not have a calculus midterm you'd been agonizing about for what was it, ten years? The next day. That better be a glitch Parker or I'm going to make Karen so annoying and immutable you'll never be able to get into your suit again."

That…was not a great look. But in his defense, it was _because_ he was so nervous about the midterm he'd been out so late! But balance, balance. Can't sacrifice school and his own life for superheroing, he had his whole life to save the world yada yada. So maybe Mr. Stark had a point, but still.

Sometimes though, Tony skipped the message entirely and just straight up called him. Those…were never good, like that time he got, well, he didn't want to say stabbed, more like superficially impaled, but Karen, the little traitor, just had to be a huge tattle-tale. He had been trying to stop a mugging, except that it was three guys who obviously knew what they were doing and he had gotten just a little distracted because the guy they were robbing was running away too slow because of his twisted ankle. So caught between making sure the guy didn't get more hurt and taking out three guys, he didn't really notice the knife until it literally stabbed him in the back, but really more like his shoulder, which was, fine you know, because it's not like there were any important organs all up in there. And like, the knife wasn't even that big, or even fully in! So really, it was just a cut, a slightly bigger than usual cut, but still, just a cut.

But no.

"Peter, you are losing more blood than is permitted. This constitutes as being in danger. Calling Tony Stark."

Peter paused after he flipped stabby dude on his back and webbed his hands and feet together. "What do you mean more blood than permitted?"

"Your healing powers can successfully take care of minor wounds without putting your life in danger. A stab wound is not minor." Karen informed dryly, distracting him from the three rings it took for Tony to pick up with a gigantic scowl and that expression that promised trouble.

"Peter, you better not be stabbed right now." But even as he was saying it, Peter could see him furiously typing away on his phone and the distant sound of an Iron Man suit starting up.

Peter gulped, "I feel like if I just take it out it'll be fine?"

Tony's eyes shot up, wide and slightly crazy. "Absolutely under no circumstances do you take that knife out. Do you understand me Peter?"

Tony muttered some more, about supposed genius children and their disrespect for basic biology all the while heading towards Med Bay and rummaging through some supplies. "Are the hooligans all webbed up?"

"Yes Mr. Stark."

His mentor sighed a little, his shoulders drooping ever so slightly. "Ok. Good job. You did good kid." But he caught sight of Peter's hopeful face and pointed sharply, "But if you think you're not gonna get yelled at boy are you in for a treat." And then promptly hung up.

So Peter waited miserably, shooting a glare stabby guy couldn't see. "Did you really have to stab me? Was it really necessary?"

He didn't hear the reply before the Iron Man suit arrived, levitating in front of him with its arms out. He let himself be carried in a way that wouldn't aggravate his injury and it was only then, when all the adrenaline and the shame left his body that he realized his shoulder was on _fire_. Oh my godddd, oh my god it hurt, holy shit was shock that good of a drug, hot damn! The suit dropped him off right into a waiting hospital bed and Peter tugged off his mask, his face pale and mouth dry. "Mr-Mr. Stark I'm-"

Tony took one look at the kid's face and his copper stained suit and any trace of anger disappeared. "You're gonna be okay kid. I promise. You just have to bear with me a little bit okay?"

"It really hurts." He whispered, ashamed a little, at how weak that sounded.

"Believe me, I know. But you're going to be patched up in no time and you'll go back to bouncing off walls and eating churros okay?"

When Tony's hands touched his back, Peter heard a sad intake of breath. "Man I wish Bruce were here."

"Dr. Banner?" Peter thought talking might help distract him from what was to come, and luckily, Mr. Stark seemed to be in a talkative kind of mood.

"Yeah, Bruce's whole thing is medicine, he would've been great right about now." A pause, and then, "Not that I don't know what I'm doing or anything. I _am_ a genius. Did you know I learned the entirety of astrophysics in a night?"

Peter heard him snap on some latex gloves before pushing gently on his chest spider so that the suit fell off of him as he pulled the knife out quickly. Peter hissed, his breaths coming in little pants as his shoulder sent ripples of pain waves across his entire body. His head felt slightly woozy and briefly, Peter wondered if maybe he had lost too much blood. But he gritted his teeth, clenching his eyes as he tried to talk without stuttering, "You- you're modest too. The full package, wow."

Tony snorted behind him.

"Is Dr. Banner coming back soon?"

Tony's rummaging slowed a little, "I don't know." He said after a pause, "After that whole Ultron fiasco he just…left." Peter thought he sounded faraway, like he was suddenly hit by a bout of nostalgia he thought he had left behind.

"I heard the Hulk really liked Iron Man, is that true?"

From the sound of his voice, Peter thought he might've smiled. "The big guy had a soft spot for me for sure. Probably cause I flattered his ego. Or maybe because me and Bruce were Science Bros."

Tony pressed something to his wound to staunch the bleeding, pushing him onto his stomach so that he could put as much pressure as possible muffling his excited, "Science Bros?!"

"Settle down kid, I need to disinfect you and then you can get all excited back in nerdville."

Peter grunted, wincing as he felt the cool saline solution enter into his skin as Tony dabbed it all around his shoulder. "Can I be a Science Bro? I can invent things! And I know a bit about biology too."

Tony scoffed, "Do you even have a driver's license?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You expect me to give you science genius status when you're legally not allowed to drive a car?"

"There is zero correlation between those two things, do you know that?" Peter pouted, burying his face into the pillows.

"Hey, maybe the Hulk will take a liking to you too and then I'll be forced to let you in. Don't want to be on that guy's bad side." He clapped his hands, "Now onto actually important issues, luckily for you, I don't think we have to stitch anything up, so I'm just going to clip on some butterfly bandages…wrap your shoulder up nice and tight…aaaaand, we're done." Tony announced peeling off his gloves and patting Peter's good shoulder firmly.

Peter groaned, turning his head to look at him. "I'm never getting stabbed again."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Promises, promises." But at Peter's pathetic lip wobble and wide eyes, Tony threw up his hands, "Fine! I won't lecture you, you already know what I'm going to say anyway. Just take this pill, it'll help with the pain," he helped Peter sit up, handing him a small glass of water, "And you need to monitor it for the next day or two to make sure it doesn't swell up or get infected. Can I trust you to do that?" he asked sternly, his hand cupping Peter's chin.

Peter nodded intently, "Yeah, of course. You can count on me Mr. Stark."

"And next time you're hurt, call me okay? I didn't give you this suit so that you could just bleed all over Queens like some weird cultist."

Peter fidgeted, his fingers fiddling with the linens of the bed. "I just didn't think it was a big deal and I didn't want to…" his voice faded off.

"Getting stabbed is definitely on my list of big deals. Right up there with, engaging with a bad guy out of my league and help I'm being overrun by gross aliens. You have my number for a reason Peter. I wouldn't have given it to you if I didn't want you calling. Remember, I'm on _your_ side okay?" Tony said evenly, as though he hadn't just answered his unspoken insecurity of bothering him for stupid things.

Peter smiled, feeling better, despite the pulsing pain in his shoulder and the overall weight of disappointment at being compromised. "Thanks Mr. Stark."

Apparently done with feelings for the day, Tony waved at him, heading back out the door, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a meeting I've postponed twice already and I don't feel like getting murdered via Pepper's stilettos. Feel free to take a nap in here, Happy'll be up here in a sec and I will repeat myself on this communication thing." He turned around, catching Peter's eyes deliberately, "If you're in pain, or you're hurt, or something's not right, call me okay?"

"If I do will you make me a Science Bro?" he shot out as Tony rolled his eyes good naturedly.

Happy came in the room a few minutes later as promised, took one look at him, and shook his head. "Kid, you're gonna give us all heart attacks you know that right?"

Peter shrugged apologetically, "Sorry Happy."

"You look like a ghost ate you and then spat you out, try to sleep a little. I'll get you home before May comes back from work."

"Can we at least put something on the tv?"

Happy perked up, "There's Downtown Abbey reruns, great idea Pete."

Really, Peter deserved that.

* * *

A week after the stabbing incident, his shoulder had healed so that it was impossible to tell he'd ever been hurt and he'd feeling great ever since. Better than great really. Him and Ned had found a super cool Star Wars themed café and they had had a blast ordering themed drinks and taking pictures with the costumed baristas. May and him finally gotten around to starting Brooklyn 99 and upping their evening relaxation routine and even school had been all smooth sailing. So when Happy pulled up at his school, Peter only expected the worst because, once you go up, the only place to go was down right?

Turned out, there was just higher to go.

"Is there a mission Happy? Did something happen? Are we going to the tower? The compound?" he gasped, "Overseas!?"

Happy looked like he was considering rolling up the divider window but thought better of it. "We're going to the tower, I have no idea what for. The boss seemed pretty giddy though. Must have something cool to show you."

The possibilities were really endless and Peter couldn't help bouncing a little in anticipation before the tower entrance came into view and he practically zoomed out the door and into the building. Once in the elevator, he tried to calm down somewhat. "Hey FRIDAY, where's Mr. Stark?"

"In the common room. Taking you there now Peter."

"Thanks FRIDAY!" he chirped, rolling on the balls of his feet.

The elevator pinged open, "Kid! Come check this out!" Tony sounded one second away from losing it to a fit of giggles and Peter felt a smile creep up his face reactively.

"What's up Mr. Stark?"

On the counter, next to two spoons and open lids were two giant sized Ben and Jerry's ice cream tubs. Once Tony saw his face, his grin got wider as he rushed over, slugging his arm around Peter's shoulder and pulling him over.

"Mr. Stark, aren't you not supposed to eat dairy?" he pointed out, his brows furrowed in concern.

"Kid, when Ben and Jerry's names an ice cream flavour after you, you have to swear off swearing off things."

"No way! That's so cool Mr. Stark! Did they make two for you?"

Tony's grin got wider and if anything, he looked overly pleased with himself. "As awesome as that would be, no. When they pitched the idea to me, I thought sure, why not, but then I thought, why not give a shout out to my sidekick."

Peter couldn't feel the air in his lungs anymore. He was so thrilled he barely even registered the sidekick joke. "No. Way. Mr. Stark you _didn't_."

"I one hundred percent did. And check out their names. Stark Raving Hazelnuts, isn't that just catchy? And you got-"

Peter screeched, "SPIDERMANGO BLAST?! I love mango! And blasts! And oh my god this is so cool, wait till I tell Ned, he's going to freak, I'M AN ICE CREAM FLAVOR!" Peter knew he was freaking out but this was definitely one of the coolest things that had ever happened to him.

"Mr. Stark this is the most exciting thing that's happened ever, well not ever because you know Spiderman, and also stealing Cap's shield and then there was-"

Tony laughed, sticking a spoon into the tub before stuffing it in Peter's mouth. "At least try it first before you sing its praises." But there was an amused twinkle in his eyes and he couldn't keep the smile off his face.

How could he? When the kid got that excited, it was contagious. Most of the time, Tony felt like his presence was always linked to danger, and superheroing, and too many life or death situations. The kid had been through a lot the past couple years and if this is what little it took to get him so happy he blazed brighter than a baby star, then Tony would do everything to keep that child vibrancy.

"Ish sho good." Peter managed to get out, his face relaxed in enjoyment. "Mr. Stark," he said properly, after swallowing, "You gotta try it. Like right now. And I want to try yours!"

He dipped his spoon into the nuttier flavor and squeaked again, "It's so good too! Ben and Jerry's rocks!"

Tony nodded his head as he dug deeper into the mango ice cream. He had always had a thing for fruity flavors. "They sure do kiddo."

They ate their fill of ice cream and since Peter was already there and May wasn't home until eight that day, he decided to stick around. He wondered when exactly it was that he didn't fumble and stutter excuses to stay longer and when it was that he just pulled out his chemistry book and started working on the coffee table while Tony flipped through emails on the couch adjacent. He scribbled formulas in his notebook before getting bored and flipping through his Twitter feed only to gasp in mock shock, shoving his phone into Tony's face.

"Mr. Stark!" he gasped, "When were you going to tell me that you were dating Happy!"

"What are you-"

"I can't believe The Midnighter knew about my own mentor's love life before I did." He clutched his heart, trying to look lamenting, "I'm crushed Mr. Stark. Honestly."

"The fact that you even follow that tabloid says more about you than that headline does about me." Tony shot back, "And I can't believe you aren't accepting me and Happy's very loving, very committed relationship. _I'm_ crushed."

Peter snickered. "You two are really good together. I ship it."

"What the hell is that?" That apparently, was more interesting than a torrid love affair with his friend, and Tony actually looked up from his tablet.

"How do you not know what shipping is? You cry over Ross and Rachel all the time."

"You have to be heartless to not love Ross and Rachel. They're each other's lobsters." Tony gesticulated adamantly.

Peter nodded seriously, "See? Shipper."

* * *

So, Peter got into a bit of a routine and felt a new kind of comfortable that made the world seem that much more manageable, that much more welcoming. He leaned back in his desk chair, staring at the chemistry formulas on his homework cheat. Considering all the new things he had going, Peter thought that he was finally getting good. Between juggling school and his friends and Spiderman and also his new time slot at the tower, he had thought that he had distracted himself to the point where his brain could stop trying to kill him. Like sure, he was maybe a little more claustrophobic than normal, and yeah, sometimes he had nightmares about being crushed under a suffocating pile of rubble that clogged his nose and went into his eyes and filled his lungs with dust that sunk him to the floor and oh dear God there were the heart palpitations. Peter sucked in a breath like it was his last, crunching forward as he tried to calm his heart that rattled against his ribcage like it was trying to burst out of him. The panic was always a swooping feeling, like free falling but without his web-shooters. Every molecule in his body tensing all at once, all of his focus on the tightening in his chest, the clenching of his stomach and the heat flashes that thrummed all across his body in waves. Shit. Damn. Dammit! Dammit!

Peter pressed a hand against his heart before pushing them into his ears with a gross desperation. Everything was loud, it was so, so, loud. Why was everyone screaming, why was everything blaring, why was the world an endless cacophony, the noise was like dust filling his ears, his mouth, his nose, his lungs, dammit dammit dammit. Peter squished his eyes shut, his whole face pinched as he rocked back and forth. Pass, pass, pass, why wouldn't it just pass. Breathe, breathe, breathe, you were supposed to breathe, weren't you? Peter gasped, gulping for air but it wasn't enough, it was never enough. Jerking his head around frantically, Peter practically tripped over himself as he fell to the floor grasping at his mask and tugging it over his head in frantic gaps. "K-Karen." He heaved, already feeling better as his auditory and visual stimulus dialled down to a less vicious level. "Karen, please lower external stimulus by half." He managed to say, pulling his knees into his chest and ducking his head between the gap, focusing on breathing.

"Peter, your vitals show clear distress suggesting a panic attack."

"I know Karen. I know. But this will help me. Trust me." Peter could feel his voice coming back as the world dulled around him. "Can you just…can you just count to ten for me a few times?" he asked meekly, pressing his face further into his arms.

"Of course, Peter." Her level voice counted to ten five times and it was enough for Peter to force himself to match his breaths to her counting, focusing on her slightly robotic, but still sweet voice, as he slowly brought his body back to normal.

When he regained control, he sighed, leaning against the wall in exhaustion. "Th-Thanks Karen. I owe you one."

"You do not owe me anything Peter. I have been tasked to take care of your wellbeing." She said gently, and Peter felt a smile spread across his face.

"Thanks Karen."

A few moments passed, before a new fear crept up over him. "Karen…you're not going to…to tell Mr. Stark are you? It's not a big deal! I just needed to dial down the visuals and whatever, I have it all under control." He rushed to placate her, gesturing with his arms though he knew she couldn't see.

"There exists no specific protocol for me to report emotional problems to Mr. Stark automatically, but I do feel that I should."

"No!" Peter jerked forward, panic in his eyes, "No." he said again, in a slightly calmer voice, "It's fine Karen. It's fine. I got it under control." Shakily, he stood up, wobbling slightly as he bent to pull out the full Spiderman suit.

"Let's just go on patrol. That'll help me feel better. I just…let's go Karen."

Karen didn't reply, and Peter got the vague feeling she was judging him. But that wasn't possible because she was just a robot, but still…she probably was. But Peter ignored her and her probably right accusations, however silent she was about them, and shrunk his suit around him, slipping out the window and into the fresh evening. It was a really lovely day out in Queens. The sun was setting, and a gentle breeze flowed through the streets. It was perfect walking weather. Which meant the perfect opportunity for crime of all types. Peter didn't need to be out for more than twenty minutes before he spotted some random hipster looking dude grabbing two purses from a pair of friends and sprinting down the street. Sucking in a breath, Peter leapt from roof to roof trying to cut him off at the intersection. He jumped down, shooting a web onto the adjacent building and snapping it so that he landed right next to Beanie Thief. "Excuse me, those don't belong to you."

Quickly, Peter tugged him by the arms, using his foot to put the slightest of pressure on the back of the guy's knees, sending him to the floor. With his free hand, he webbed his feet together, grabbed both purses, and waved at the two girls running towards him with their phones out. He managed to web the guy's hands behind his back in the time it took for the two girls to rush at him, gushing their thanks and tugging him over for a selfie. He flashed them his signature web gesture before yelling a quick, "Nice to meet you, but I gotta go, bye!" before throwing a web up to the roof and lurching upwards.

He got through an hour and a bit or so of more of the same until Karen alerted him to a news alert that send his blood pumping. Not too far away, a hostage situation at a bank was unfolding. The police had already surrounded the building, set with their snipers and lieutenants and negotiators. But there were no eyes on the inside and no information on how many assailants or how many victims. But Peter could get all of that. In the back of his head, he could hear Tony's voice telling him to stand down, to leave it to the professionals. But this was something Spiderman could do. Something he could do to save he didn't know how many innocent lives. If it was too dangerous, he'd escape and give the information to the cops. The other part of him ignored the truth that he wouldn't do that. He could never abandon people who needed him. No matter what the consequences.

With that in mind, he swung around the neighbourhood he loved so much until he could make out the bank in the distance. Quickly, he swung up onto the roof of what he assumed was a corporate block, webbing and leaping across the rooftops to land on the bank roof. He ran to the roof door, not surprised that it was locked but also knowing that locks were irrelevant as he shoved against the door pushing it loose. Quietly, he tiptoed down the stairs, quickly ducking to the floor when he heard footsteps rushing past the fourth floor door with a slim window. The one downside to his plan really, was that everything the police didn't know, he had no clue about either. Which meant that walking in the halls, even if he was on the ceiling or being extra quiet was a huge risk. Which was when his favourite police comedy show came in handy and gave Peter an idea. Or well, half an idea. "Karen, get me the schematics of the bank in terms of vents." He whispered, "I'll crawl around until I can find where they're keeping the hostages."

"Copying the information now Peter."

"Yes! You rock Karen."

Grinning, Peter opened the door slowly, looking both ways to check he was in the clear before locating the giant vent grate a little down the hall. Jumping onto the ceiling, he dipped his finger in between the grate and the ceiling and pulled slightly until he could pry enough off to slip through, closing it behind him. Unlike in tv shows, the vents were smaller than they appeared and grimier, dust and lint stuck to the sides like mold. Feeling his stomach shrink inside him, Peter grit his teeth, his hands curling into fists as he shimmied his way down, instructing Karen to light up the paths he was going down so he wouldn't go the same places twice. But he wasn't in there for two minutes before his senses started to heighten without his control. The walls were too close to him. His elbows hit the sides more than he would like and the ceiling felt stiflingly too close to his head. Everything closing in. But Peter knew he had to do this, had to save the hostages. And yes, his heart beat so loud he could hear it in his brain and yes, sweat accumulated in the palms of his hand and all across his back, but he could do this, he could do this. He was fine.

Honest.

And then the world roared.

Everything rumbled and shook as though the building had come to life and sheer panic overtook Peter's body as he choked, gasping on air that wouldn't enter his lungs. The air conditioning must have restarted because there was a thrumming noise and Peter's teeth clattered while everything screamed around him. A wave of dust flew into his face and Peter let out a strangled scream, knowing the mask was shielding him but that information couldn't process in his brain, the words themselves didn't have any meaning as his heart beat louder, and louder and louder, he was screaming, he was screaming he was sure he was but his hands were clutching desperately at his face, he wanted his mask off he couldn't breathe he couldn't breathe but there was dust everywhere he was going to die he was going to die, he had to get out.

Had to get out had to get out had to-

"Peter. Peter!" a strong voice commanded him back.

Peter blinked, looking around wildly. "Peter! Can you hear me?" the voice called again, frantic this time, worried, strong, strong, so much stronger than he was.

"Mr-Mr. Stark?" Peter's voice shook, heavy with sobs he couldn't let out.

"Peter." Tony sounded so relieved, it hurt. "Peter," he said again, taking back command, "I need you to focus on me okay bud? Just focus on me." Vaguely, Peter could hear the roaring of the vents fade into nothing and the visual feed on his suit dull into something dark and the temperature inside his suit cooled considerably, feeling like a gentle breeze.

"Pete, you're going to be okay. Do you hear me? You're going to be okay. You're fine, everything is fine. I need you to count to ten with me okay? You're going to breathe. Deep breath kid," Peter gulped in air like he was drowning, "That's it! That's it! You're doing great kid, now hold that breath for me, there you go." Tony's voice was soothing, like the rain, or the sun in spring, "Okay now let it out, nice and slow Pete, there you go. Now let's do that again."

"Mr. Stark-"

"Ah ah kiddo. Breathe first, and then we can talk okay? Now again."

They did the same breathing exercise until Peter felt his heart dial down but the overwhelming need to go wouldn't leave him. "Mr. Stark, I can't stay here anymore. I need to get out. Please."

"I'm almost there kiddo. I promise I'm going to get you out okay? I'm almost there." He sounded like he was gritting his teeth, his voice cutting off abruptly as though he muted himself before coming back.

"I don't think I can do this." Peter gasped, feeling panicky and stupid and utterly pathetic.

"You're going to make it through this kid. I know you will. You're braver than anyone I know." And Tony declared it with such a conviction that Peter felt something well up in his throat and he knew that he could never refute him, no matter how little he believed it.

Only a few minutes later, a window shattered, and the rev of the Iron Man suit filtered through his suit and Peter almost cried in relief. A hole punched through in front of him, two gauntlets pulling it apart until it was a perfectly sized gap from which Peter tumbled down from right into Iron Man's waiting grasp. Peter heaved in a breath, his knees buckling as Tony settled him to the ground. Quickly, the mask lifted off Tony's face revealing the wide-eyed worry and twisting lip. "Peter you're okay." he assures, "You're okay, I got you."

"The hostages." he manages to say, pale and shaking.

"Taken care of Pete. Don't worry about that."

"I wanna go Mr. Stark. I wanna go, please." and he knew he sounded like he was begging but he isn't, he isn't.

But Tony didn't say anything, just nodded and scooped him up, leaving from where he came.

"Whatever you need kid."

He flew them up to a random roof and Tony set him down gently, where Peter breathed in the open air and just rocked himself. A few minutes of silence passed before Peter dropped his head into his arms over his knees, his lip pulling in shame. "I'm sorry." his voice haggard and small, "I'm sorry I freaked out over nothing and made you come here to get me like I'm some stupid kid and ruined everything."

"Peter." and Tony's voice didn't waver or shake or betray anything other than a determined conviction. "Did you know that after the Battle of New York I had such severe panic attacks I almost hurt Pepper with a suit unconsciously in my sleep?"

Peter paused in his rocking, not looking up, but not saying anything to make Tony stop either. "I had some crazy bad PTSD, like some next level _shit_. And, you know, typically, I decided to deal with it by my lonesome like I always do and you know what that got me? A terrorist blowing up my house and being stranded in the middle of nowhere having panic attacks left right and centre."

"They came when I least wanted them to. Always when there was something important I had to do and something I was trying to accomplish. And you know what? It took me an embarrassingly long time to come to this conclusion, but they weren't my fault. And what happened today with you? That wasn't your fault either."

"How can you say that?" Peter burst, finally throwing his face up to look Tony in the eye, tear stains dribbling across his cheeks and his face flushed, "I went in there to save those people and all I ended up doing was causing trouble for you and ruining everything! I was supposed to have this under control! I should have-!" his lip wobbled, and his stare drilled into the floor in shame.

Tony softened, walking over so he sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Kid, if people could control their panic attacks, you think anyone would have them?"

"It's so stupid." Peter muttered, "It's so stupid. What happened with the stupid building was so long ago I shouldn't still be thinking about it. I shouldn't be letting it freak me out every time I'm somewhere tight!" he yelled, angry and bitter and feeling like the biggest loser to ever walk the earth.

"Peter, what happened when that building collapsed was traumatic. Anyone would be traumatized! And it's actually on me for not realizing that sooner and getting you the help you need." Tony sighed, twisting so he could face Peter directly.

"Peter, the truth is, our jobs are hard. They're hard and disappointing and sometimes we can't always handle it. That doesn't make us weak. It makes us human. And that is far from a weakness. Especially when all this?" he waved his hand in the air like he was performing a magic trick, "Is all treatable. My issues only got better because I went to go see someone after Pepper harassed me into doing it. I'd never tell her this, but it's the best thing she ever made me do."

He looked like he wanted to make a joke before thinking better of it and pausing. "You did your best Peter. And no matter what happened today or what might happen later, you're a great hero with a great heart. You're exactly what gives me hope for the future."

Peter's eyes glistened before he lurched in Tony's direction, wrapping his arm around his waist with a tight desperation. Surprised, Tony only took a second before slowly wrapping his arms around him as well, rubbing his arm in what he hoped were comforting pats. "You're gonna be okay kid. Trust me."

"You really got better?" Peter mumbled, voice small, "From…from talking to someone."

"Sure did. And you will too." Tony paused in his ministrations, "I won't force you to go Peter, but pushing the problem away isn't going to solve it. In my experience, it'll only make it worse. And since I told you explicitly to not do what I would do, that kind of only leaves you with one option."

"But Mr. Stark, you _did_ go to therapy."

Tony flicked his arm. "That's the better version of me. Obviously I was referring to the worse version of me when I said that."

"Obviously." Peter agreed, a wet laugh escaping him.

Tony sniffed, looking uncomfortable and determined all at once. "And one other thing, before I go throw on some shades and pretend I'm still allergic to emotions again." he took a deep breath, "You didn't make me come get you or bother me or any of that other self-deprecating junk you think sometime- leave that shit to the professionals. I'm here looking out for you kid. That means I'm always invested, I'm always caring and this kinda stuff, this real stuff? I always want you to come to me about it. Always, at any time, anywhere, I don't care. I'm on your side Pete, no matter what. Capiche?"

Peter squeezed him tighter, silent for a moment before a wet, "Thanks Mr. Stark."

They stayed like that, Peter clasping onto him like Tony tethered him to the ground before he broke away, smiling sheepishly. "I want to say sorry but I don't want another lecture."

Tony faked surprise, "It learns!"

Peter rubbed the back of his head shyly, averting his gaze. "Can you uh…send me the info about...what we talked about before? I don't…love the idea or anything but I'm really…I'm really tired of this."

"Sure thing, I'll set it all up." Tony grinned then, his eyes twinkling like the entire scape of stars above them. "It's going to be just fine kid. I guarantee it."

And despite every misgiving and doubt Peter had about himself and his fears, he believed him.

* * *

Peter's chilling in his room, a playlist he didn't remember choosing playing softly in his room while he polished off what he thought was a pretty poignant and thoughtful discussion about the use of anachronisms in _The Passion_ before his phone rang. Which was suspicious because he deliberately put his phone on don't disturb. It all made sense though when he saw the caller ID and he rolled his eyes. "Mr. Stark, did you seriously just hack my phone so I'd pick up your call?"

"Do you think I just sit around in my tower all day waiting for you to finish your homework to pass along an extremely important message?"

Peter smirked, "No, I'm sure you fit in some time to getting yelled at by Ms. Potts somewhere in there too."

"Oho, the little spider wants to play does he? But as much as I'd love to destroy you via wordplay, there actually something important I wanted to talk to you about."

Peter sat up straighter in his seat, already looking for his suit. "Is there a mission? Do you need me to come over?"

Tony's voice sounded fond, "Relax Underoos, no supervillains today. It just occurred to me though that you need real fighting training." His voice dropped to a more serious octave, "It's fine if you're just up against an ATM thief or a guy running with a girl's purse. But when you're up against the pros- not that you will be- but it's important to plan ahead and whatever, you need to have an actual strategy. You can't just rely on better reflexes and brute strength."

Peter bit his lip. "I-I appreciate the sentiment Mr. Stark, but I…I'm not trying to actually hurt anyone-"

"Excuse you. I just had a twelve year old-"

"Fifteen."

Tony ignored him, "- A twelve year old bleeding out from a stab wound in my Med Bay. You think that's okay? Why should that kid have to get hurt? If you knew how to defend yourself-"

"Mr. Stark! It's fine!" he interrupted sharply, surprised at himself, but knowing this was one thing he couldn't compromise.

He could hear Tony's breathing on the other end, could picture him pinching his nose in frustration. "Kid, what's the deal?"

"Nothing. I just don't want to kill anyone ok?" he grit out.

"Kill anyone? Who said anything about killing anyone?" and Tony sounds genuinely incredulous.

"If you teach someone how to fight you're teaching them how to get…get rid of someone."

"Peter." and Tony sounded strangled, "I would never ask you to do that. I never _want_ you to do that. All I want is for you to have a better chance of getting out of a bad spot and use the strengths you have better." And his voice was so sure, so certain and sincere that Peter felt his hands unclench from around his chair where his fingers have left a noticeable dent.

"That's the problem." Peter whispered finally, staring at his hand curling and uncurling into a fist, "If I punch someone, they'd die right on impact Mr. Stark and I can't- I can't... I didn't become Spiderman to hurt people, I did it to protect my city."

"Kid," Tony sounded distinctly softer now, like he's disappointed but Peter didn't know in who, "Why didn't you tell me you couldn't control your strength?"

Shame blustered its way across Peter's face and he could literally feel himself shrinking. "It's not that I can't control it. I stopped breaking door knobs ages ago. I just…don't know how strong I am so I don't know how to fight the way I know I could. I don't know. I'm sorry Mr. Stark." he wasn't even sure what he was apologizing for honestly, all he knew was that looking this pathetic was the opposite of how he wanted Tony to see him.

There was a long pause, like Tony was running calculations in his mind. "Ok, tell you what. The next time you come in to make your webs and whatever other shenanigans you get up to in the lab, I'll bring Rhodey over and he'll show you some real self-defense. Nothing aggressive, nothing about attacks. Just…movement stuff okay?"

"I don't know…"

"I promise kid, you don't have to learn anything you don't want to. I'm on your side, no one else's." He was quiet for a few seconds, and then, quieter, "I just can't take any chances."

And that got him. He knew what it felt like, to want to take every precaution to protect someone, to keep them safe. It was how he felt about May.

"Okay." Peter whispered.

Tony sounded relieved. "And don't worry about the strength stuff. You think Cap knew what to do when he went from a twig to a freaking mountain? You'll get the swing of it in no time." and from the lilt of his voice, Peter knew he said it on purpose.

"That's a super lame pun Mr. Stark." He retorted, feeling the hints of a smile creeping up.

"Excuse you, I'm sure your lovely aunt raised you better than that. Is that any way to speak to your elders?"

"So you admit you belong in a home for the elderly?" he joked back, feeling a little better as he spun in his chair and picking up his pencil to start his physics work.

"Snark is not a good look on you kid, leave it to the professionals."

"Ok Mr. Stark, whatever you say." Peter grinned, "I'll see you Tuesday then?"

"Tuesday it is. Later kid."

* * *

It was Sunday, and Peter was getting a little nervous for Tuesday. He hadn't ever really met met Colonel Rhodes, other than that brief team up at the airport, but that didn't really count. He was feeling so nervous, that he stood around a little stupidly in his still baggy Spiderman suit debating whether he's too finnicky to go out and patrol when his bedroom door swung wide open and Aunt May just started shrieking.

When he finally managed to get her to bring it down to normal decibels, he was still trying to pretend it was a costume even though he already knew it was futile. "Peter Parker you better not be trying to lie to me right now." May seethed, arms crossed and every part of her aflame.

Peter felt the stress sweat start to kick in and he chuckled nervously, hands raised in a defensive gesture. "Ok, listen May, this really isn't as bad as it looks honest-"

"Tell me how finding out my kid's been parading around town in a onesie for two years fighting crime WITHOUT telling me NOT that bad!"

"What is it with everyone calling my suit a onesie, that's what Mr. Stark said too and it's not a-"

May froze, her face a caricature of that one moment before an explosion, "What did you say?" sounding very, very dangerous.

Suddenly, Peter felt very, very small and very, very afraid. "Nothing! I didn't say anything!"

"You Stark Internship…" May trailed off and then looked horrified and furious all at once, "That BASTARD!"

"Aunt May no!"

But May was not to be deterred, an awesome force to be reckoned with in her own right. She grabbed Peter's phone, demanding his password before scrolling through his contacts and finding the one she was looking for. The phone rang once, twice, then "What's up kid?" Peter could hear whirring in the background and knew he was in the lab.

It was a miracle he picked up the phone then. Everyone knew how much Tony didn't like to be disturbed when he worked.

"How dare you?" May hissed, and Peter heard the whirring stop.

"May?" Tony asked, confused and wary, "What's going on? Is Peter okay?"

"Is Peter okay? Is Peter okay?" she repeated, louder and fiercer, "Tell me how swinging around in New York to fight criminals is okay for a kid to do. Tell me!"

"May I promise you-"

"No. Stop. I don't want to hear whatever excuse you have for dragging Peter into this. He's my _kid._ My only-" May's anger cracked for a moment and Peter understood her rage for what it really was.

May was terrified, scared and worried and Peter hated himself. Felt his own heart break at seeing hers strain. He loved May more than anything, is grateful to her and appreciated her and would do anything for her and all he was doing was ruining her and he hated himself.

"May." Peter tried to say, but it came out raspy and pathetic.

"May please," he heard Tony say, "I know you're upset, I know it's insane, but believe me, I wasn't letting your kid run around Queens without protection. I've been watching him, every step of the way. And this is more than being Spiderman, it's about dealing with his mutations-" May paled at that, her grip around the phone tightening as her other pressed against her mouth to hold back a sob, "But that's not the- let me just- you need to see, see for yourself." Peter has never heard Tony so ineloquent, never seen the man who could control rooms of reporters and picketers and twist stories to his whims so out of his element.

Something in his voice must have reached May because while she was still fuming, her knuckles white and her lips pursed, she nodded curtly though she knew he couldn't see it. "I'm only agreeing because I want to know everything about Peter and his…changes. But after that, I never want you near me or Peter ever again." She said vehemently.

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Tony sounded more haggard than Peter had ever heard him, "Okay. Okay. I'm on my way."

May hung up before he could say goodbye.

Peter was trembling, his whole body feeling pulled at, the air too thin, his skin burning up in a heat flash. He hated seeing May upset but he couldn't not see Mr. Stark again and he couldn't not be Spiderman anymore, but he couldn't see May like this anymore either, he couldn't. "May," he tried again, trying to swallow his anxiety, "May this isn't Mr. Stark's fault. I was being Spiderman way before he-"

"I don't want to hear it Peter. Stark is an adult, he should've known better."

"But he did! He gave me a real suit so I wasn't just in a sweater and using goggles and he gave me an AI and made the suit practically indestructible and he put a tracker in so he always knows where I am! And he makes sure I stick to small stuff and he started teaching me how to defend myself so I wouldn't get hurt and when I do get hurt he always takes care of me and makes sure I don't push myself and-"

"You are a child Peter!" May yelled, and there were tears in her eyes as she stormed in his direction, "A _child_! You still do homework and go to school and field trips and children don't need supersuits or trackers and shouldn't be getting hurt fighting bad guys after curfew! I can't believe you would- after Ben-" And like she couldn't stop herself anymore, May fell onto the couch and sobbed, shoulders heaving, head in her hands.

Peter watched helplessly, his stomach sinking to the floor. Of course, Ben. Everything, always, always, came back to Ben. "I can't- I can't lose you Peter. Not you too."

And Peter was running. He threw his arms around his aunt and hugged her as tight as he could without hurting her, his eyes squeezing shut. "I'm sorry Aunt May. I'm sorry." He repeated, over and over until her sobs gave way to small sniffles and stray tears.

Peter pulled away, his own eyes tinged with red. May had shown him her soul, bared her honest truth and Peter knew he owed her the same. "I can't stop being Spiderman May. I can't. I'm Spiderman _because_ of Ben. When you have powers like mine, you can do things. I can save people May and I…I can't choose to do nothing just because it's the safe thing to do. That's not what Ben would've done."

May clenched her eyes shut, her palm pressed against her mouth. "Please May, I would've been Spiderman whether Mr. Stark found me or not. I just would've been doing it without any supervision. But I have to do this. If I don't help protect Queens, who will?"

May looked like she wanted to argue more before a quick rap was heard against the door. Peter looked at her as though to gain permission to go, and May nodded slowly, wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue as Peter got the door. "Hey kid." Tony greeted, looking old and sorry.

"Hi Mr. Stark." Peter replied, trying to smile but coming up with a blank.

Tony wasted no time, walking straight towards May and sitting down next to her, setting a pile of files between them. "I'm sorry I took so long. I had to print most of these out since I keep them on a private server so no one can get to them."

May's brows furrowed. "What are those?"

"All of Peter's files." He pulled the first one up, opening it to reveal several papers filled with medical jargon and charts. "I don't know what Peter's told you about what happened to him-"

"What do you mean what happened to him?" Tony shot Peter an unimpressed look.

"Alright kid, why don't you take it from the beginning."

So Peter retold his run-in with the spider at Oscorp, what the flu really was that one time, and what happened afterwards and how it inspired him to take on the identity of Spiderman. May looked horrified. Clutching at her nephew like she could shield him from the world and whispering "My poor baby" over and over, wishing she could've known, could've been there, could've helped.

"That's where these charts come in." Tony segued, "After the bite, Peter's DNA changed, amplified by the spider so that his senses and physical abilities surged. His senses are significantly enhanced, sometimes so much so that he gets sensory overload where he needs to dull them down to get back to normal. He has Captain America level strength now and also an enhanced healing ability so that most superficial damage heals relatively quickly and even more serious wounds heal quicker. It also made him…well, sticky really. Like an actual spider, he's adhesive to practically anything."

May was silent, trying to process everything before, "Wait, what about that web stuff. Don't tell me you-"

Tony actually cracked a grin at that one, "Don't worry May. That's all synthetic, the kid's a little genius apparently."

May didn't smile back, but looked relieved.

"I did a few tests on him so we could understand his biology and also be prepared for if something bad happens." At May's stare, Tony felt compelled to elaborate, "Not that we think there would be anything, but in case he ever gets sick or needs a surgery, we need to know how his body will react to different procedures." He spread the different sheets around, "I laid all that information out here, you can look through it at your own time, don't worry about dumb medical lingo, I made my head doctor translate it all so I'd get it, so you should be fine too."

He pulled out another file, this one labeled Spiderman, "This one here has all of the suit's capabilities and features. And this-" from his pocket, he revealed a USB, "will give you access to the suit the way I do." he pressed it into her palm, holding onto her hand, "May, I want you to know that I would never put your kid in danger and that I'm always making sure he stays safe when he's in that suit and I'm never more than a call away for either me or my suits to go help. If you plug this into your computer, you'll be able to use the tracker I put in there and access the Baby Monitor protocol," May raised her eyebrows, "Yeah, that's basically exactly what it sounds like."

"Thank you." May finally said, pulling her hand away, staring at the USB like it was something incredibly precious.

"There's one more thing." Tony said, standing up to pace around the living room, "Now that those files are here, I think it'd be a good idea to boost the security in here. I know it'd give Peter more peace of mind, he's always worried about you. I can have this place more rigged than the Pentagon by tomorrow. I even drew up some- shit. I forgot them in my car." he glanced up at Peter, "Hey Pete, would you mind?"

Peter glanced at May and then him, nodding too much as he reached out for Tony's keys. "Sure Mr. Stark, sure. I'll get them right away."

Tony waited until Peter had left before he sighed, going back to sit next to May, elbows on his knees and hands cupped around his face.

"Did you forget those papers on purpose?" May accused.

Tony shrugged, shooting a self-deprecating smile, "You caught me. I just…had something I needed to say." He took a breath, straightening his back and turning towards her, "May…when I met him, Peter was swinging around Queens in glorified pajamas and when I found out he was a kid I was mortified. But then I actually talked to him, and man was he young. Young and passionate and noble and he's everything you'd expect a hero to be, everything a futurist wants to see in the next generation." he looked at her, serious and truthful and sincere, "If I thought that kid was going to stop if I told him to, I would've kept him on the ground. But he's not that kind of kid, and deep down, you know it too. He would never sit a fight out if he thought he could help just one person. If he could save just one thing."

May's lips pulled in a watery smile, "Ben was always trying to teach him lessons like that. Turns out he was a good teacher," her expression crumpled again, "but still, Peter's just a kid. He's just a kid."

"I know. But I swear to you, I won't let anything happen to him. I know you don't think much of me right now, but I would do everything I could to make sure he was safe."

A pause, and then, "And if you're concerned about your safety, there's always a floor for you and Peter at the tower if you want to have a fifty year old roommate." he waggled his brows and May scoffed, pointedly looking away.

"Absolutely not. That's the last thing I need. Peter around more Avengers propaganda." But she looked a little more lighthearted and they both relaxed into their seats just a tiny bit more.

"Just so we're clear, I'm still furious." May declared, shooting him a frown, "But Peter's stubborn and I knew it when he told me that he wasn't going to stop. I just-" she broke away. "I'm glad he has you in his corner." She finally said, "If he's going to do this no matter what, then I'm glad there's someone looking out for him."

* * *

After May found out, Peter felt a deep relief he didn't know he'd been holding inside him fall away. It was exhausting, lying all the time, about absolutely everything. Exhausting to hide the reason why he was extra affectionate with his aunt after a hard patrol or why he came home sometimes a little worse for wear. Exhausting to pretend he didn't have nightmares and a phobia of buildings toppling atop of him and flashbacks of villains and being so near death he could taste it. It was a huge relief, a wave of comfort, when he could finally tell her where he went every Tuesday after school.

"May," he started, hesitant and quiet, "I don't actually have extra Decathlon practice after school Tuesdays."

May looked up from her phone, head tilted to the side, "What do you mean honey? Are you trying to tell me you used that as an excuse to patrol?"

Peter shook his head, "No I…I'm…seeing someone. For my um…well Miss. Taylor says its PTSD but well, it's just, you know, nightmares and like, flashbacks…sometimes? About that thing…I told you about before? With Liz's dad and the building, and…yeah." he stumbled, unable to look her in the eyes.

Finally, he looked, to see her wide eyes and trembling lips, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before!" he rushed to say, looking apologetic and frantic, "I just didn't know how to bring it up because you didn't know I was Spiderman yet but then one day Mr. Stark found me when I was having a panic attack and he told me it was normal for heroes to get scared sometimes and offered to find me someone to talk to, because he said it helped him and everything, so I thought it wouldn't hurt even though I was a little scared to do it but, it really helped! And I feel better most days and I just…I just wanted to tell you because I don't want there to be secrets between us and I wanted-" he was interrupted by May tugging him into her arms, cradling him tightly against her.

"Peter, Peter, Peter." she gasped, "I wish you told me sooner, what can I do to help you? When did you start seeing a therapist, and why didn't Tony tell me?"

Peter sniffed, burying his face into her neck, "He wanted me to tell you myself." he answered softly. "And…if you want to listen, I want to tell you."

Later, when the two of them had discussed everything there was to discuss and May had hugged him again and assured him she would be there for him through everything, no matter what, he was reminded of what Tony said and how he felt when he had said those words to him and couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for the two adults in his life. He kissed May on the cheek, wishing her good night before ducking into his room just to hear the faint ring of May's phone, knowing already who would pick up on the other end.

"Hey May, what's popping?" Tony greeted.

Still a little emotional, May's voice was rich with unsaid things, "Nothing really, I just called because…I don't know. I just feel a little overwhelmed, by all this and we're kind of in this together now and," she paused like she was trying to find the words, "PTSD?" she finally got out, voice cracking, "How do I even…"

"He finally told you?" Tony sighed, "It's going to be okay May, he's been doing so much better since he started seeing Andrea. Believe me, just being there for him and being yourself is more than enough. He wanted to tell you but just didn't know how and just you knowing I think, is a huge relief to him. Don't start putting more on yourself. You're doing everything right."

May sniffed looking lost before wiping resolutely at her eyes and pulling her expression into something as collected as she wanted to be. When she spoke, her voice didn't shake. "Can you tell me more about her?"

Peter tried to tune the rest of the conversation out, wanted to give his aunt and Tony some semblance of privacy. But he couldn't help but overhear the tail end of their conversation, if not just because it made him infinitely happy when Tony praised his aunt. Because she deserved the world, for everything she had done and how supportive and loving she was throughout everything.

"He's lucky to have an aunt like you." Tony said, "And if you need anything else, let me know."

"Thanks Tony. I just…I just love that kid to pieces and I want to do right by him you know?"

"Yeah, I know. And I want you to know, I'm on his side, no matter what."

* * *

Peter and Tony were working intently in their lab, heads bent in focus, all energy diverted towards precision and accuracy when the crackle of lightening and thunder shattered their bubble of concentration.

"What the heck was that?" Peter's attention was caught in an instant, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

The air rumbled around them again and this time Peter could swear the tower shook. Tony dropped the wrench he was holding, gesturing for Peter to come closer to him. As soon as he was close, Tony grabbed his arm, pushing Peter behind him while he tapped at the arc reactor at his chest to start assembling a suit around him. Despite having been there for the creation of the technology, Peter was still as enthralled as ever by the fluidity of the metal and the smoothness of the design. It was probably Tony's best creation, his perfect masterpiece. But Peter didn't have much time to marvel as Tony turned to him. "Do you have your suit?"

"Uhh, yeah, yeah, I do but it's…" Peter dropped his head, "It's in the common room."

Tony frowned and then just like that, the suit retracted back into the reactor and Tony was ripping it off and sticking it onto Peter's chest instead. Immediately, the metal began to envelop his body and Peter stepped back, staring at the metal engulfing his skin in horror. "Mr. Stark what are you doing!"

"FRIDAY, don't let the suit disengage until I say so." Tony ordered, ignoring Peter's shouting.

"Mr. Stark stop, I don't need this, I can fight without the suit, you-"

" _I_ will be fine." Tony interrupted.

He looked around the lab, finding his wrist gauntlet he'd been fiddling with two weeks ago and slipping it on

Peter panicked, wishing he could find something, anything, to fix this, wishing he brought his suit, wishing there was any other option other than watching Tony go to face a threat they couldn't see with nothing but a repulsor glove. "Please Mr. Stark-" _please don't do this_.

"Zip it kid. You're the priority right now. You need to get out of here." Tony ran to the door and gestured for him to follow and all Peter can think about is the Siberia video.

About how Tony got left behind and about how he could have died. The fear crushed his organs and he felt a desperate overwhelming urge to shout that he didn't need any of this and that Tony, in his bare humanness, needed the armor more than he ever could. "Mr. Stark, I'm not leaving." He said instead.

Because Mr. Stark promised he was always going to be there, that he was always on his side, and damn it all if Peter wasn't going to do the same.

"This is not a negotiation." Tony stressed, looking like he was flicking through plan after plan in his head and finding each one a failure. "We don't know who or what is here and-"

"Boss, it seems that Thor has returned."

The pure shock on Tony's face was enough to evaporate every speck of tension in the room.

"What." He managed to get out just as a loud roar was heard throughout the tower.

"STARK!"

The relief Peter felt was palpable. Tony's left arm shook as he turned to Peter slowly, looking torn between shell-shocked and hopeful. Like someone who so desperately wanted to be excited yet didn't dare to tempt fate. "That dramatic son of a bitch. He couldn't have just come in through the door like a normal person?" his shoulders slackened, the highly alert posture loosening so that Peter felt comfortable enough to interrupt his musings.

"Umm, Mr. Stark, if it's not a bad guy, can I…can I take the suit off now?"

"What? Yeah. C'mere kid." Tony tapped the reactor again and the suit retracted inwards like it was liquid.

With the reactor back in its rightful spot, Tony looked up at the ceiling, "Send him our way FRI. You know what to do."

"Of course, boss." which was good timing as they could heart Thor shouting again and it sounded like he was getting farther.

"I can't believe he came back." Tony whispered, like he was still in denial, still unable to believe in something he couldn't see for himself, something he couldn't empirically prove.

To Peter though, it sounded achingly sad.

"Of course, he would. He's your team-mate."

Tony looked at him like he was something incredibly precious he couldn't bear to break. And he was. He was. The urge to protect Peter was so innate at that point that giving him his suit happened without a second's thought. Without even a minute's hesitation. In that moment, Tony had barely acknowledged the risks, barely even noticed, but now that the danger was clear, he could feel the panic fading in his chest, the beat of his heart as it struggled to go back to baseline. In the moment, all he had known was that there was no way on this earth or in the entire universe that he was going to let anything happen to Peter. And before, a thought like that, a feeling like that, a _certainty_ , like that would have terrified him. Now though, it felt just as natural as anything.

Peter walked over to him, looking lost and unsure, like a giant weight had just been thrusted upon him and he stumbled with the responsibility of it. He looked like he wanted to say something before he was interrupted by the door swinging open and a god striding in.

Holy _shit_.

Peter always knew Thor was big, big and muscly and criminally good looking, but _wow._ And when Thor smiled, it was like the first ray of sun after a storm. "Anthony!" he boomed, taking three giant strides towards him and clapping him on the back.

"Hey Point Break, nice of you to storm in." Tony said dryly, his arms lifting to hug him back.

He stepped back, giving his friend a once-over. Tony tapped his own eye, "New?"

Thor smiled, something mournful. "A lot has happened since we last met. I have many things to tell you and the other Avengers."

He looked like he wanted to say more before an exasperated shout was heard down the hall, "Thor! Where did you go? You can't just abandon me whenever it's convenient to you!"

Tony's eyes widened as he rushed to the door to stand out in the hall. "Bruce?" and he sounded like he didn't dare dream it.

At the end of the hall, Bruce stopped still, looking like he had finally come home and yet was plunged into a whole new world all at once. Shyly, he waved his hand in the air. "Hey Tony. How ya doin'?"

"Bruce? Oh my God, Bruce! Where have you _been_?" Tony's face split into a careless grin as he met his friend halfway and pulled him in for a tight hug.

"It's kind of a long story." Bruce chuckled, hand rifling through his hair.

"We have been through quite the journey." Thor agreed, his voice booming inside the lab, "Where are the rest so that we may convene?" he looked around, eyes falling on Peter in a vague curiosity.

In an instant, it looked like ten years of his life drained off Tony's face as he sighed, offering a self-deprecating quirk of the lip, "A lots happened here too Goldie Locks." he glanced at Peter, "This is Peter by the way. He's my intern."

Peter stumbled forward, lost in the haze that came with meeting heroes. He held out his hand and he swore it didn't shake. "N-nice to meet you Mr. Thor, sir, I'm Peter Parker."

Thor shook his hand and seems surprised, "You have a strong grip young Parker. Impressive."

Peter really thought he could just die right then. "Ohmygod thank you Mr. Thor, wow. Thor said I was strong, did you hear that Mr. Stark?" he rambled.

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Go on kid, you look like you're possessed by One Direction fangirls."

Peter's grin exploded onto his face as he hopped towards Bruce. "Dr. Banner, we had to read some of your papers for our physics class and your work is absolutely incredible. You literally redefined a whole field? It's so cool to finally meet you."

Bruce smiled, soft and bashful. "Thanks Peter. It's always nice to meet a fan." He then turned to Thor and scrunched his nose, "Told you Dr. Banner was cool too."

Thor just scoffed.

Peter still had stars in his eyes when Tony came up to him and clapped him on the back, "Alright kid, it's time for you to go back to your hot aunt. The adults have business to get to."

"Aw come on Mr. Stark, I want to hear all about Mr. Thor and Dr. Banner's cool space adventure too. I promise I won't say anything, you won't even know I'm there!" his arms gesticulated to emphasize his point and he looked so ridiculously keen eyed and bushy tailed that Tony wanted to toss him in a wood with talking animals and choregraphed musical numbers.

Thor, having had his ego sufficiently boosted, looked quite pleased with himself. "They were indeed, super cool space adventures, and I would be honored to have you listen to them. Anthony?"

Tony scowled, looking between the two of them, arms crossed before throwing his hands in the air. "Fine! But if you're traumatized, it's your own fault!"

Peter cheered, "Thanks Mr. Stark!"

Later, when they're settled on the couches of the common room, Thor relayed the story of his father, his sister, and the redemption of his brother. Bruce tried to convey his time as the Hulk fighting in the arena and his role in Thor's family drama but the two ended up bickering more often than not, but it was lighthearted and full of fondness. It made Tony's heart ache as he remembered a different time with old faces.

When the story was done, Thor looked uncomfortable for a second before gathering his resolve. "Anthony, I came to Earth after the destruction of our home because I did not know where else to go. I have come asking for an immense favor to which I might not ever be able to repay. But as the King of Asgard it is my duty to look out for my people."

Tony shrugged, leaning back into his seat comfortably. "You want us to take in your refugees, right?"

Thor blinked. "Yes. Exactly."

But Tony wasn't paying attention anymore, fiddling with his tablet instead as he hummed in concentration. Thor caught Peter's eye from across the room and he shrugged, not knowing what Tony was doing either until the tablet screened darkened and Tony stood up suddenly. "Okay, we'll take them. I just had to double check the tower's capacity, but we should be good. Might be a little tight, but we'll make it work. Send me the location of your ship, I'll send some buses to bring everyone here. We'll do it a couple cartloads at a time, don't want to overwhelm the system or anything. Do you guys have stuff, or do we need to stop by an Ikea?"

At the three's stunned silence, Tony tapped his foot. "Excuse me? Earth to alien, I realize this isn't the ideal situation, but until we can get everyone repatriated somewhere, maybe Norway, aren't you guys like, their mythical deities or something, you'd think it'd be their pleasure, you guys can stay here. It's not like this tower isn't empty as shit or anything."

Peter gaped. But it was Thor who appeared so overwhelmed he looked like a mountain who could crumble into dust. "I came asking for assistance, but this is more than I hoped for. I could not-"

"You can." Tony announced, effectively ending the discussion.

"We'll need to redecorate a bit and some parts of the tower are going to be off-limits, but I think this can work. And you and Bruce can have your old rooms back." He walked over to his friend, gripping his arm tightly and dropped his devil may care tone, "I'm sorry about what happened Thor. No one should lose their home. But I hope this can be your new one."

Thor's eyes swirled with galaxies of thanks, his expression raw. "Thank you, Anthony. For all the people of Asgard, thank you."

Peter was so proud of him and happy for Thor he practically tripped over his feet when Tony asked him to make a list of all the empty rooms in the tower. "Kid, don't feel obligated to help but if you could-"

But Peter knew that there was no one else to ask but him, that everyone who could help had left, and even if they hadn't, there was no way he wouldn't help all the same. "- Are you kidding, of course I'll help. After everything they've been through it's the least I can do."

* * *

It was all over the news just a week later and Peter couldn't go anywhere without seeing a different headline about New York accepting Asgardian refugees and if there was even a policy on alien migration. Most people though said policy didn't really matter if it wasn't state funding that was supporting them but mostly, people just argued to argue. When he told May, she was so shocked she almost dropped her one-pan chicken veggie dish. She looked rumpled a little bit, and quietly finished up dinner prep while Peter watched the news from his perch on the couch, functions book forgotten. Later, after the dishes were done and the table wiped, he heard May dial Tony up on the phone and though he knew he shouldn't listen, he couldn't really help it, what with the super hearing and all.

"Hey Tony."

More muffled, but still audible, "May? Are you okay?" a beat, "The kid-?"

May was quick to assuage his worries, "No, no we're fine. Peter just told me about you giving up our rooms to Thor's Asgardians." She says the last word like it's foreign, something she never thought she'd have to curve her lips around.

"Oh sure, you always want whatcha can't have right?" Tony laughed referring to her declining his offer to stay in the tower, sounding relieved the sky hadn't fallen.

"I think what you're doing is great." May blurted out, a little surprised at herself.

"You called just to say that?" It hurt Peter a little, how genuinely surprised he sounded.

"Well from the sound of it, no one else has." It was a blunt statement, one that was nonetheless true, but still.

"May, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you're trying to pick me up." he teased.

Peter didn't have to see to know May was rolling her eyes, but in the playful way he was sure. "Don't get too cocky Stark. I just think credit where credit's due."

"I'm not doing it for the credit."

May's voice softened, "Yeah. That's why you're getting it."

There was a comfortable silence before she perked up, "By the way, could you explain something to me in Peter's file? I didn't quite understand the jargon."

Peter tuned them out at this point, everything Tony knew about him and the suit he already knew first. But he couldn't help but notice that May and Tony talked for way longer than a simple follow-up question should take and that science wasn't nearly that entertaining for May to keep laughing like that. Bent over his homework, Peter couldn't help but feel glad that the two were becoming friends. Or at least getting along. It made him feel secure, like having a tighter net to fall in. When May clicked off the phone, she knocked on Peter's door, walking in to run her fingers through his hair. "You doing okay bud?"

"Yup! Just finished all my work, I'm thinking about going on patrol."

Her fingers didn't stop combing through his hair, but they slowed down, like she was trying to memorize the lean of every strand. She took a breath. "Ok Peter. Be safe, be careful, and be back before one okay?"

"I still can't believe you coordinated a curfew with Mr. Stark. That's so unfair." he complained, but he couldn't help the smile anyway.

"I'm sorry that the need for sleep and achieving a high school degree is getting in the way of you saving Queens from atrocity." she drawled, squeezing his cheek just because she could.

"Don't worry May, I'm a natural multi-tasker."

"Okay Spiderkid," she said, having taken an immediate liking to the nickname when Tony first said it, "whatever you say. Oh," she paused at his door, "I invited Tony over for dinner tomorrow so come straight after Decathlon practice okay?"

"You did? Really?"

May shrugged, "With everything going on, he sounded like he could use a break."

"Yeah Mr. Stark never knows when to stop. That's what Colonel Rhodes says." Peter looked at his homework, twirling around his pencil, "I wish he took care of himself half as well as he takes care of everyone else." he said quietly.

Peter looked up at his aunt, earnest and bright eyed. "He's done so much for me May, I just wish he knew how much I appreciate it."

Heart clenching, May gathered him in her arms, pressing a kiss onto his forehead, "Oh sweetie, I'm sure he knows. I'm sure he knows."

* * *

Peter was at lunch, sitting at his usual table with MJ and Ned when his phone rang, startling him from his intense debate over the objective superiority of Star Wars versus Star Trek. "Mr. Stark!"

"Hey kid," his mentor greeted smoothly, "If you're free, come by the tower after school. Already cleared it with May, she's actually coming over for coffee apparently, I don't know how she manipulated me into that, but here we are."

Peter snickered, "May's persuasive like that. What's happening at the tower?"

Tony seemed to perk up from the happy lilt his voice took, "Since the Asgardians moved here, Bruce's back and I figured your nerd butt would be dying to get a chance to geek out with the Hulk himself."

Peter almost fell off the bench, "Holyfreakingshit are you serious? I get to do science with Dr. Banner?" to say Peter was frothing at the mouth would be an understatement.

Tony chuckled, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're replacing me with Bruce as your favourite avenger."

"Mr. Stark, Thor's always been my favourite you know that." Peter replied with zero hesitation, laughing at Tony's mock howl of hurt.

"Keep it up Spiderling and I'll see how you like it if I adopt some other crime fighting teen."

"You wouldn't." Peter teased, "You'd miss me too much."

"Ehh, I'll get over it." Tony replied and Peter could still hear the smile in his voice, "So after school?"

"Yeah, sure thing Mr. Stark, see ya!"

Ned gaped at him, jaw halfway to the floor, "Did Tony Stark just invite you to work on a science project with _the_ Bruce Banner?"

Peter grinned, laughing as Ned pretended to faint, "Holy crap dude your life is so awesome."

"Don't worry, I'll send you snaps." Peter assured.

"Can you get Dr. Banner to say hi to me? That'd be so cool!"

Peter promised to try his best and four and half hours later, when Ned saw the snapchat icon light up on his phone, he couldn't help his squeal as the Hulk himself gave him a wave and a quick hello.

* * *

The thing with being Tony Stark is that he had the (mis)fortune of always being in the wrong place at the right time. Meaning, he just wanted a quiet day at the Parker residence to get all of May's work gossip (he just really needed to know if Eduardo ever found out that Cassidy was cheating on him with the grocer and if _she_ knew that Eduardo had a secret daughter), but instead, he got a gang turf war six blocks down. Which, you know, typically wasn't up Iron Man's alley, except for the fact that they had some of the Vulture's leftover tech, the stuff that had been sold way before Spiderman caught on and the feds hadn't collected yet. So, you know, _great._

Peter was ecstatic, "Ohmygod I get to take down criminals with _Iron Man_ , oh mygod, May!"

May rolled her eyes, "Haven't you gotten over the hero worship yet? You've seen him cry during Finding Nemo."

"It's not hero worship! I'm over Tony Stark but Iron Man is still awesome!"

"Hey! That was a very emotional movie!" Tony defended, already tapping at his suit so the nanotech spread across his body. "And hey brat I gave a multimillion dollar suit to! Tony Stark is just as cool as Iron Man!"

Peter shrugged.

May licked her lips, "Ok I forgive you for the admiration Petey, I've seen that suit come on a thousand times and it's still just as attractive."

Tony waggled his eyebrows, "You know May, if you're trying to hit on me we can just cut to the chase."

"Definitely was hitting on the suit, not you Goatee."

"Hey, the goatee's sexy."

"Sure Tony."

"Ok, that's it. We're out. Underoos, let's jet. May, we'll be back in thirty, maybe less. Don't eat all the popcorn."

"Sure Tony. Whatever you say Tony." she replied through stuffing two handfuls in her mouth.

"Be safe Peter! I love you!"

"Love you too May!" Peter called back cheerily, running to the roof where he could change into his suit with some privacy before bounding off.

The pair arrived at the site of the fight a few minutes later, watching as one side utterly demolished the other. Their key player? A guy with a gun fitted with a pulsing blue stone in the middle that shot out similarly coloured lasers. "That's not great." Peter remarked, trying to look for entry points that wouldn't get him shot.

It didn't seem to matter though, because a viewer from their apartment window eleven floors up stuck their body out of the window and yelled, "Hey! It's Iron Man and Spiderman! Eat that shit heads!"

Tony dropped his face into his hand and sighed so aggressively Peter almost had to laugh. "New Yorkers!" he cursed just as the criminals from down below looked up and immediately started shooting.

As they said, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. So in a way, Peter thought, them being there was good because it made the gangs stop fighting? Because they needed to kick the bigger enemy's ass? So, all in a good day's work right!

Tony flew down, the regular bullets just ricocheting of his armor. "Pete, I'm going to go after the alien tech, you focus on webbing up the dumb and dumbers over there okay." He paused and said, "I feel like I shouldn't have to say this, but knowing you, I will. Don't get shot."

Peter frowned as he flipped over a bunch of guys accessorised in the same shade of navy blue. "I don't intentionally get hurt you know."

"Yeah? Tell that to my heart condition. Which, you know, you constantly exacerbate."

"Rude."

The guy with the actually dangerous weapon yelled manically, "Stay away from me you metal freak! One step closer and I shoot your fucking face off!"

"Calm down short-stack, we all know you're just overcompensating." Tony quipped, feeling tired of him already.

The man shrieked again before pressing and holding down the trigger so that a wave of energy burst through. "FRIDAY, shield."

A rectangular sheet of metal appeared in front of him before curving into a more concave shape so that the beam launched right into the sky. The man swallowed before shooting again but Tony kept charging at him before a blur whizzed past his vision. Peter had attached a web to the adjacent wall just past the guy's head and he launched forward, grabbing the guy's attention. And the gun's. The beam swung towards Peter's direction and Tony felt the panic swell inside of him until he was filled with a frenzied energy that sent him sprinting in his kid's direction, screaming his name and throwing himself in front of him. He tried to maneuver the shield to bounce the ray back at the attacker, but his timing must've been off because the laser grazed the shield but singed his right glove so that it fizzled.

"Mr. Stark!" Peter yelled, sounding worried but Tony shook his head, gesturing for him to carry on.

"Kid, the gun!"

Tony launched into the sky, using his repulsors to keep the guy distracted while Peter worked out a way to grab the gun from his hand. The problem though, was that his balance was ridiculously impeded by the glitching of his repulsor stabilizer and the miniscule delays led him to get hit in the foot with the gun and send him careening back to the ground. Peter cried out, webbing the back of the guy so that he could pull him straight towards him, one arm around his collar the other squeezing his wrist until the gun clattered the floor. Breaths coming in quick, Peter webbed him to the wall and ran to where Tony was struggling to control his fall just before his repulsor finally gave out and he crashed right into Peter's open arms. "Gotcha Mr. Stark!"

Tony looked at him before giving a tired, "Oh my god." And promptly letting his head fall back in defeat.

From the eleventh floor window, the same guy cheered, "You go Spiderman! Whooo!" just as the line up of cop cars arrived at the scene, sirens blaring alongside the clamoring of the news reporter vans pulling up alongside them.

Tony opened up his faceplate, watching it disappear before stepping back to the ground with as much dignity as he could muster. He patted Peter on the back, "Good work kid."

But Peter had a shit-eating grin on his face and he couldn't help but clutch his hands to his heart and do a little spin, "Mr. Stark, you were like a princess. And I was the prince. And I just saved Iron Man holy crap. But like, I saved you like you were a damsel in distress. Do you feel distressed Mr. Stark? Should I catch you again?"

Tony groaned, rubbing his forehead, "I can't do this with you kid. Stop. Please, lord, make him stop."

Peter cackled and then waved at the journalists who were pressed against the yellow security tape, microphones thrusted outwards and cameras rolling behind them. Tony fired up his one thruster and hopped somewhat gracefully over to the crowd, "Keep your applause people of New York, the bad guys are all webbed up over there, New York's finest," he gestured to the waiting policemen, "Your arrests await."

A reporter waved at him, "Mr. Stark! Is it because of your involvement with Spiderman that Queens has seen a record low in violent crime?"

Tony smiled, and the only way the reporter could describe his expression was proud. "A record low?" Tony whistled, "I wish I could take the credit but that's all on Spiderman. New York has a bright future ahead of it with Spiderman on its side I can tell you that. He's gonna be the best hero of us all. So you should really get on his team already, I sure know I am."

Peter thought he could almost burst as Tony beckoned him over and the two answered questions together. "Spiderman! After spotting the two of you together the past few months, is it safe to say that you two have partnered? Will you be becoming an Avenger to replace the Rogues?"

"I don't know about partnered yet. I'm still learning and Mr. Stark has been a great teacher. He's my superhero mentor! And as for the Avengers…I don't know yet. I'm just going to keep doing my best in Queens for now."

Tony clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a light squeeze. "I think that's all we have time for folks. Don't post my bad side!"

Later, when they were heading back to the apartment, Peter finally had the courage to muster out, "Did you really mean what you said? About me becoming the best superhero?"

"Becoming?" Tony replied without even hesitating, "Kid you already are." He said incredulously.

And Tony felt so strongly in his words, believed them to be true so fundamentally that he didn't even bother to explain. Peter's face burned up as he pulled at his suit, robbed of words. Tony's faith in him staggered him, but it also inspired him and made him want to be better than he was and better than even Tony thought he could be in order to make those words true.

"Thanks Mr. Stark." He finally said, feeling like all the gratitude he could say could never express the extent to what he felt.

He'd come a long way from the little kid clutching at his Iron Man figurine as he watched his hero plunge a nuke into a wormhole to save the city, petrified and anxious. He'd grown to realize that all heroes were just people at the end of the day, they were weak sometimes and made mistakes and were so far from perfect. But despite that, Peter had never stopped thinking Iron Man was the best. Never doubted that he would save the day, that when it came down to it, no matter how dire it looked, Tony Stark would find a way. Because before he was a superhero, he was a mechanic. He fixed things. Put them back together. Always, without fail.

So, Peter would try. He would try to be as good as the hero he always thought Tony was, even though Tony never thought that of himself. "And also," he said before he could stop himself, "Even though you told me to be better, I still think you're the best. You're my hero, even if you weren't Iron Man."

Tony faltered in his gait, turning his head to hide his expression. "You can't just say things like that kid, you're going to give me a heart attack. You know I can't do feelings." He mumbled, as though he wasn't feeling like he was on top of the whole goddamn world.

"So you missed some developmental milestones," Peter teased, "won't stop me from saying what I want. Sorry Mr. Stark, I don't make the rules."

"You're right. I do. Now go to bed." Tony complained, but he didn't look annoyed, just gruff and fond, as he tugged him in with an arm slugged around his shoulder.

"It's only eight Mr. Stark."

"So? You're eight."

"You _know_ I'm sixteen."

"Yeah, I distinctly remember throwing you a party. A super dorky party."

"You're a dork too!"

"Yeah, but not for _Star Wars_."

"Don't say Star Wars like that! Take it back!"

"Make me. Oh wait you can't. Because you're _eight_."

"Mr. Stark!"

* * *

Tony clapped his hands together, looking giddy and wearing that same expression he always wore when he was about to reveal some grand gesture that made every act of affection Peter had ever shown him look ridiculously insignificant in comparison. "Mr. Stark, why do you look so weird?" he asked warily, already ready to bolt out the door.

"Peter," Tony declared, like his name was the beginning of some great proclamation, "welcome to summer!" he threw his arms out in a grand gesture, "As a congratulatory gift for finishing tenth grade, oh God I always forget how goddamn _squirty_ you are, I'm offering you an actual position as a Stark Industries intern effective immediately. You'll be my personal R&D intern, but occasionally, I'm going to have to throw you in the lab with Bruce or push you to the actual department because you know, meetings and Avengers and adult stuff and whatnot." He finished quickly, as though all those things were immensely inconsequential.

Peter's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? Like for real? I'll get to work on the renewable energy projects? Or the biomed ones? Or," he gasped, " _the Avengers stuff_?!" he freaked, practically bouncing in excitement.

Tony shrugged, "You're technically our first intern, so I don't really know how any of this goes. But Pepper, have you met Pepper yet? She'll draft up something great. Maybe we should have an actual internship program? Do you want more nerd friends or are one and a half enough?" he pushed his shades down to make sure Peter saw his entire teasing face.

"What do you mean one and a half? Ned is a full person."

"I wasn't talking about him. He's full nerd, but the other one? That girl you have a crush on but won't admit you have a crush on? She's only half nerd. I have a strong suspicion she's actually much cooler than both of you combined."

"I don't have a crush on her!" he squeaked, "And of course she's cool! She's the coolest person I know! And I'm including you on that list!" he said adamantly, pointing at him like it was intimidating.

Tony laughed. "Cruuushhhh." he sang, unable to keep himself from laughing as Peter squawked indignantly.

But feeling like he should be the adult, Tony straightened, pulling out another pair of sunglasses from his pocket and shoving them onto Peter's face. He quickly mussed the kid's hair up, making it stand up more in the front like his did and satisfied, took a step back and grinned rakishly. "See look at that, you're gearing up to take over this place like it's nothing."

Peter blushed, ducking his head so Tony wouldn't see how pleased the whole gesture made him and boost his already overly boosted ego. "Oh hush." he muttered instead.

It was later, when he was already an intern for a week or so, that he realized that on Tony's plate was a lot more than he imagined and that all the time he ever took out of his day to be with him or talk to him or even just check up on him was time Tony had to carve out with deliberate purpose. The knowledge made him swell with affection, feeling a little overwhelmed at how well Tony could sometimes hide how much he cared, with snark and sarcasm and sharp words, but how his actions revealed a complicated patchwork of emotions that if anyone cared to examine, would reveal everything they needed to know.

And just like when he first watched that video, the video that changed everything, Peter resolved to care back just as loud.

* * *

The negotiations with the Rogues were going worse than expected, the issue being more terrible than it should've been considering it was a giant global secret. It had to be, because what Thor, Bruce, and Loki had told him was unreal, unfathomable, and utterly terrifying that it would send the whole world into a panic. Considering all that, you'd think the Rogues would give him a break. Just for a little. It wasn't like Tony didn't know they wouldn't budge about the Bucky thing, the problem was that they refused to believe that the justice system could be trusted to put him on trial and acquit him for not being of sound mind and body. He couldn't just let Barnes go no matter what he thought about the matter, Tony wasn't the goddamn United Nations or even the US government. He was just a man. A man trying his goddamn fucking best and no one seemed to realize that he couldn't just snap his fingers and have everything go back to the way it was.

So he avoided. He did what he did best and locked himself in his workshop and decided he was going to create a missile defense system that could annihilate alien ships before they even entered earth's orbit and thought he could accomplish it all in his relatively small tower lab and infinite cups of coffee. The grease stains accumulated across his waist where he wiped his hands and at his chest where he unconsciously rubbed his reactor scar every so often. He smelled like sweat and regret and every swing of his hammer on the hot metal was a second where he could forget about Steve and the Accords and the way Clint looked at him like he was the devil. He scrawled out equations onto scraps of paper and his hand cramped and his body ached but he pushed himself and he pushed himself until his body couldn't deal with murdering itself past hour 63 and he felt himself lose consciousness over his workbench, his last thought just, _thank God_.

On the other side of the city, Peter was sitting on a rooftop, just letting his legs swing. It was twelve-twenty-three in the morning and he had to be home by one-thirty but it seemed to be a quiet night and Karen would inform him if the cop scanner went off, so he thought he would just text Mr. Stark to see if he wanted to grab something to eat. "Karen text Mr. Stark hey! Wanna get burgers? With two burger emojis and two fries emojis. Thanks!"

"Sure Peter, text message sent."

He waited for the reply, which was usually immediate since Tony was always up at night and always answered texts from the suit in case it was important. But burgers counted as important because they were the all-American meal and comfort food the extreme. Tony had never turned Peter down for late night gluttony if he was in town. But his feed remained silent and so Peter sent three more follow up texts, never having been one to fear double texting, but after thirty-five minutes of radio silence, Peter felt a niggle of worry burrow its way through his stomach and started swinging towards the tower without even thinking about it. He would just pop in to see if Tony was okay. It was just odd was all, him not responding. And sure, he could've been asleep, but Peter had literally never known him to be asleep at a reasonable hour in his life.

He walked inside the building, waiting to get onto the elevator to talk to FRIDAY. "Hey FRI, Is Mr. Stark here?"

"Boss is currently in the lab and he appears to be asleep." The AI replied helpfully.

Peter frowned, why was he asleep in the lab? That didn't seem comfortable at all. FRIDAY let him off where the lab was and gave him clearance after Peter argued that he was there for Tony's wellbeing and wasn't that the point of having an AI? The doors slid open to reveal Tony sprawled on the desk looking to be in a death like sleep, one that was desperately needed, if the shadows under his eyes and the paleness of his face was any indication. The lab was a mess, blueprints scattered everywhere like garbage, half finished products strewn about, and Tony himself, looking dirty and small right in the middle.

It made Peter incredibly sad. And for the millionth time he wished Tony cared about himself half as much as he cared about everyone in his life. Just a quarter as much as he cared about Peter. He would never let Peter waste away like this, burning himself down to ash to run away from his thoughts. He would never let Peter starve himself because he couldn't be bothered to take care of his body from how hard his mind was trying to strangle him. It hurt him to see his mentor like that, alone and lonely. The feeling of ineptitude weighed down on him before he narrowed his eyes, determined to show Tony that even if he didn't love himself, Peter would love him enough until he could.

The common room was only down the hall and so gently, Peter pulled Tony up and lay him down fully on the bench he was sitting on before picking up the entire bench and hauling it out of the lab. He carried Tony towards the couch and as softly as he could, maneuvered him until he was lying comfortably on it, throwing a blanket over him and a pillow beneath his head. "FRIDAY," Peter whispered, "dim the lights please."

The lights dulled around them and Peter glanced down to make sure Tony looked comfortable before making his way to the kitchen. He spent the next ten minutes or so making a turkey sandwich stuffed with the appropriate vegetables, a bowl of fruit, a granola bar, and a giant bottle of water to compensate for the coffee dehydration. He put them all on a tray, covering it so it wouldn't spoil, and set them on the coffee table. Hands at his hips, Peter looked around. "I think that's all…" he pursed his lips, assessing more before jumping, "Oh yeah!"

He ran back to the lab, finding a spare piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled something quickly, stuffed it between the sandwich and the fruit and then bounded off back to the elevator. "FRIDAY, can you make sure nothing wakes him up unless it's really really important? Like end of the world important?"

"I'll do my best Peter. Thank you for taking care of the boss."

Peter saluted and wished FRIDAY goodnight.

Fourteen hours later, Tony awoke with a groan, rubbing his eyes before shooting up with a start. "Where the-"

He looked around to see the common room, a blanket tangled between his legs, and a tray of food next to him. Blinking, Tony looked around, certain that he was pulling another bender in the lab. "FRI?" he called, dragging out the name.

"Yes boss?"

"What the hell happened?"

"Mr. Parker found you last night in your lab and moved you here. I believe he left you a note."

Tony sat up properly, "Peter…?" he reached out, grabbing the note and then feeling his whole entire heart clench.

 _Hey Mr. Stark!_

 _So I made you some dinner (or would it be breakfast for you?) so you should just go ahead and eat it all because I'm pretty sure you haven't been eating properly since there's just candy bar wrappers and I think blueberries? All over the lab. You're always going off on me to eat healthy so I'm just practicing what you preach : )_

 _You're invited over to our place today by the way, you can come whenever you want after six because that's when May comes home and I have Decathlon practice until around then too, but you already knew that, so come okay! I feel like you should be with your family right now and not by yourself._

 _Ok well that's all I really had to say so I'm expecting you at the Parker residence at 6 o'clock, so be there or be square. Or date squared. Don't think I'm above force feeding you May's baking (I'm not)._

 _See you tonight Mr. Stark!_

 _Pete_

Tony didn't know if it was because he'd been called part of the family or the fact that Peter had done all this or that he even wrote a note at all, but the emotions rose inside his chest until he felt he'd implode. What did he do to deserve that kid? What did he do right that the universe would offer Peter as a path to redemption? He didn't deserve him. He didn't. But if that kid, that kid with the strong ideals and big eyes and bigger heart thought that he had something worth salvaging, something worth loving inside of him, then he would be damned if he didn't try to see that part too. Try and be the man Peter thought he was. Because they were on each other's side. No matter what.

* * *

Peter heard it on the news first. CNN was turned on, mostly as background noise and for traffic updates as him and May got ready for their long days ahead. A pretty anchorwoman with wonderfully curly hair looked slightly disapproving as she read from the teleprompter. "In today's news, we recently received a tip that the popularly coined 'Rogue Avengers' are currently in negotiation with top officials from the United States government in Switzerland to reform the Sokovia Accords. Spearheading the efforts is New York's very own Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man, and Colonel James Rhodes, or Iron Patriot. The two heroes, along with the Vision, Thor, and Bruce Banner aka the Hulk, are the only members of the Avengers on the right side of the law and have been working alongside government officials to bring the Rogues back out from hiding."

She seemed to veer off script though as her next words came out with more force, "It seems to me though, that the negotiations are ignoring the very real, and very impactful criminal acts the Rogues had committed in order to attain their fugitive status." Her time must've been up, because the disapproval melted away instantly for a sweet smile, "We'll give you all the updates exclusively on CNN as they come. Stay tuned for more, and now, the weather."

Peter gaped at the screen, look positively struck as he turned to May who looked similarly confused. "What the hell?" he blurted out, "Mr. Stark's helping to bring them back?! Here?"

"Maybe they worked out whatever issues they had before honey."

"What? No way. There's no way." Peter shook his head, unrelenting. "You didn't…you didn't see May…what Captain Rogers did to him…what he kept from him. And even if he didn't do those things, he still abandoned Mr. Stark in a broken suit all the way in the middle of Siberia! In the snow! Alone!" Peter looked fierce, fierce and sad and utterly confused.

May put her hands on his shoulders, "I don't know Peter. But I'm sure Tony's going to be fine. He's got Spiderman watching his back." she grinned, poking him on the nose, "Have a little faith in him alright?"

Peter stared at her, lips pulled in a grim line, but nodded after a pause.

Having a little faith though, didn't mean he couldn't barge into the tower unannounced after school and just ask Tony himself. Peter found him where he expected to find him, sitting in the common room staring at the tv wondering who the hell leaked the news. When FRIDAY announced Peter's presence, Tony didn't even look up from where he hunched over his tablet as different news footage segments played on the big screen in front of him. He looked tired, haggard even. Dark blotches underneath his eyes, his fingers rubbing at his temples almost compulsively and his tie loosened around his neck carelessly.

"Hey Pete." he greeted, but his voice echoed hollow.

Peter stopped just outside the elevator. His eyes crinkling at the sight of his mentor looking like the world had just sucker punched him. He could feel his expression crumpling and all the big and loud emotions that had inflated him disappearing. All the yelling or accusing he thought he wanted to do fell away. As it was, he could barely whisper. "Why are you helping them come back?"

His question echoed in the silence.

Tony heaved in a breath before dropping his hand to his side and turning to look at him. He forced a smile on his face, his lips curling, his cheeks pushed upwards trying to soften the look in his eyes, but he just looked even more tired than before and like the worst liar Peter had ever seen. "The world needs superheroes Peter. Something's coming. For years, I didn't have a name but finally…Thanos is coming Peter. And when he does, we're going to need everyone we can get on our team."

Peter frowned, "There are other heroes, better heroes who actually care about their friends and about saving people." Tony flinched, and guilt pricked at him before he decided he had to keep going, "People who'd love to be on your team. Who wouldn't want to be an Avenger?"

But if Tony was a master in anything, he was a master in deflecting, so his twitched his smile into a smirk and quipped, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you didn't."

And Peter's brows furrowed, and his fists clenched so tightly at his sides he was sure his palms would bleed, "Mr. Stark they don't deserve your help! They don't deserve anything from you!" the strength of his outburst caught up with him then, because he backtracked suddenly, "Well I don't know about the others, because it's fair to have doubts about the Accords but fighting wasn't the right solution and they didn't even try to compromise or sit down and amend it but-but that's not the point!" he yelled, his frustration getting the better of him, "Maybe the others deserve a second shot, Hawkeye and Black Widow and that giant, tiny guy, but, but," his lip trembled, "you shouldn't bring back Captain Rogers. He shouldn't be allowed back here." his voice lowered until it was almost a whisper, "Not after what he did."

Tony stared at him wide eyed before his brows narrowed, "What do you mean after what he did?" his voice dangerously inquisitive.

Peter's heart pounded in his chest. "I saw the bruises on your face Mr. Stark." he said quietly, hoping he would buy the lie, "I know that you and Captain America went to Siberia but only you came back. And you came back hurt."

But Tony was shaking his head, "You know."

And it was a statement even more so than an accusation and when Peter tried to deny it, Tony just closed his eyes and let his head fall onto the couch, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "I seriously need to up the security around here."

Tony opened his eyes, keeping his fingers splayed across his face. "That wasn't my best moment kid. I could've done everything better." he sighed again, sliding forward so his head was in his hands, "I could've…If I had just kept my cool, this whole clusterfuck would've probably been avoided. It was just…the wrong place and the wrong time and-"

Peter's jaw dropped. "Mr. Stark!" he sounded strangled, "Did you hear a word I said? I watched the footage. I'm sorry I looked through your files but it was an accident and I didn't mean to but I'm glad I did because _someone_ has to care about you because you definitely aren't!"

Tony's eyes snapped open, looking startled and like he wanted to be offended but couldn't be. Not really. "He-he smashed the shield right into your chest! If you still needed the reactor you could've- you would've-" something burned behind Peter's eyes, but he shook his head determined to be coherent, "And even if you don't need the reactor anymore, you're just a human. You went to Siberia in that suit, how were you supposed to leave without it? And you weren't even fighting hard. I know your suit, I know everything about your suit! You didn't even use your targeted missiles or lasers or or anything! You held back, and for what?"

Tony sighed, looking heartbroken. Slowly, he pushed himself upwards, walking towards Peter like he didn't want to scare him off. He pulled Peter into his arms, held him gently against his chest and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's alright Peter."

"Mr. Stark-!"

Tony wasn't supposed to be comforting _him,_ this wasn't how it was supposed to go but there Peter was, shaking in his arms and Tony stood like the tower, a beacon of strength and perseverance. "I don't know if I can ever forgive him for what he did. The secret he kept or how he decided to react about it. But it wasn't…" he looked pained, like the words needed to be forced, "It wasn't Barnes' fault. He didn't have control." He said quietly.

"I should've been better. But so should have Rogers. But at the end of the day, that doesn't matter. This," he waved his free hadn't in the air, "this thing we have going on? It's not important. Not in the face of a global catastrophe." he pulled back, grasping Peter by his shoulders gently, "I'm not bringing the Rogues back because Steve deserves it, I'm bringing them back for the world. I'm bringing them back for you."

Peter looked wide eyed, but Tony stared back with certainty, a flurry of emotions creating a solid foundation upon which he planned out the future. Tony held his stare and Peter felt like he was the whole entire world. "You're going to have a future Peter. You and May and all your friends and every other person in this world. You're not going to suffer because the Avengers couldn't get over a personal squabble in a goddamn wasteland."

"I'm going to fight for that future too." Peter declared, feeling resolved and powerful, Tony's faith and hope for him to succeed making him feel like he could do anything and be anything and conquer the world, "I'm going to fight with you and protect the earth. I'm not gonna let you do it alone Mr. Stark, sorry." he gave a half grin, feeling better when Tony just shook his head and smiled.

"Kid, if I have my way, we'll solve this without having to have a single fight and you can just keep being a kid, annoying me every step of the way." but Tony sounded so fond it took all the bite from his words and Peter knew in that moment that Tony would take on the whole universe alone if it meant keeping him safe.

What he wanted to say was that he didn't want a future without Mr. Stark in it. That after losing his parents and Uncle Ben, that he couldn't bear to lose someone else too. That despite having started Spiderman for Uncle Ben, to make sure no one ever lost their loved one early and got left behind, to make the streets of his home a little safer, to go to bed knowing he made his uncle proud by trying to do the right thing, that Tony had guided him and helped him and refined Uncle Ben's unfinished product into a man he could be proud of. That it made him burst to know that the man he saw as a father treated him like a son. That he was so glad Tony walked into his life and was grateful for everything he did. That he loved him.

But instead, he said, "Mr. Stark, I'm on your side, always." and knew that that was enough.

* * *

 **A/N I hope you all enjoyed my first story for the fandom! I really just have a giant weakness for iron dad so this fic was pretty much inevitable.**


	2. Grade Twelve

_Fall_

It starts with the car. Or actually, Tony hearing about how Spiderman stole (and totaled, but they don't talk about that) Flash's parents' car and after laughing about it for a good twenty minutes, got serious. "Kid, you really need to learn how to drive."

Tony pushed down his red tinted sunglasses to get a look at Peter who was currently scuffing his shoes against the Tower's floor. Lip pulled into almost something of a pout, Peter looked like a deer, or maybe a kicked puppy. "I want to! But May doesn't have a car and lessons are too expensive and it's not like it's super important anyway. We live in New York, we just subway everywhere, or, you know, walk." He shrugged, "Plus, superhuman strength, I can't even say I'll get tired."

Tony rolled his eyes, "You can't just use your spider inclinations to get out of doing normal people things whenever you want."

Peter scrunched his nose, "I do _not_ -"

But Tony cut him off, throwing his hands in the air like it was all quite an ordeal he wasn't paid enough to deal with, "Fine! I'll teach you. Come on bugboy we have a car to crash."

Tony turned straight on his heel, ignoring the shell-shocked expression of the teenager behind him. He could hear Peter stuttering to say something and shouted, "Pick your mouth up from the floor and let's go go go." He clapped his hands and Peter scurried after him.

"Mr. Stark, you really don't have to teach me, it's fine, honest. It's not even a big deal, I don't need my license right now anyway and-"

"Peter, half the fun of being seventeen is getting a driver's license. And letting you use one of my cars is definitely easier than magic man with the unfortunately good facial hair magicking you an Audi from a pumpkin or whatever."

"I don't think Dr. Strange would that for me honestly." Peter replied, actually looking a little thoughtful.

"Well that's just not right. We bonded on that hellscape, I feel like we're owed a magic Audi." Tony said, looking mildly offended.

"Mr. Stark," Peter rolled his eyes, sighing, "if you wanted to hang out with Dr. Strange, I'm sure he'd accept the invite."

The mild offense blew up into full blown indignation as Tony spun around poking Peter right in the forehead. "How dare you."

Peter snickered, walking right past his mentor. "I'm just saying Mr. Stark. You're not so bad. Maybe a little dramatic, not to mention sarcastic and clammy and you never want to talk about your feelings and of course, you might be a little, well," Peter grinned, brows raised like the little shit he was as he leaned in close measuring himself against Tony, " _little_ , but I'm sure you guys would get along great!"

"You're a brat, do you know that? An actual fully grown brat and I have half a mind to hack into the system and get you blacklisted from ever getting a license."

But Peter ignored him, laughing hysterically.

"And don't go getting a big head over this, I'm still taller than you."

"Yeah, by an _inch_."

"Actually, it's two point six inches, eat my dust."

Peter beamed, throwing his arms around Tony in a bear hug, "It's okay Mr. Stark, I'll still like you even when I'm tall."

Tony snorted, firmly looking anywhere but Peter, but pat him on the head anyway. "Yeah, yeah, okay bud let's pick a car I won't mind getting scratched." He slung his arm around Peter's shoulders, leading him to the garage.

"I love how much faith you have in me, it's really great for my growing self-esteem."

"I'm really growing into this whole mentor thing. Just another thing I excel at I guess." Tony shrugged, looking nonchalant and checking out his nails, preening.

Peter snorted before relaxing against Tony, settling in a matching pace. "And thank you for teaching me." He was too cute honestly, dripping sincerity like that, was that even allowed? "Really. It honestly would be great to learn from someone who actually knows what they're doing…" he trailed off, face looking like he was caught between laughing and cringing.

Tony coughed, nodding jerkily, "Well watching you fumble around with the gears and the pedals will definitely be more fun than working so…"

At the garage, Tony let him go to gently push him inside, sweeping his arm around and announcing, "Alright kid, go nuts.

Peter gaped, walking past him towards the line up of cars with an open mouth. Holy shit. Tony's collection was unreal. Vintage cars, limited edition cars, super flashy how could you honestly drive those out in public cars. Hollyyyyy. And he wanted Peter to drive one of them? Honestly, they were all a little too fancy, which was the opposite of ideal because it would just stress Peter out the whole time, because sure, he crashed Flash's car, but like, it was Flash so…Sure, he felt bad about it, especially because his parents would have to pay for it, but if that wasn't karmic justice than what was? Plus, he was trying to stop a supervillain! Peter felt like that deserved some slack and sure he could've maybe steered better, but that really wasn't the priority you know!

So yeah, fancy cars were stressful.

But the problem was that Tony literally went out of his way sometimes to be as flamboyant and obnoxiously high-key as possible and his cars were no exception. Frustrated, Peter turned to Tony who had been flicking through something on his phone, "Mr. Stark, I really appreciate you teaching me how to drive but I can't use these, they're way too nice." He said, shaking his head.

"Peter, a car's a car."

But Peter fiddled with the hem of his shirt, looking like he wanted to say something but didn't know how. "It's just…you know I didn't agree just so I can like…you know, use your fancy stuff or whatever." He finished looking blustered and awkward and Tony, for once in his life, felt just a little speechless.

He really was too good for this world. Something already heavy grew even bigger inside Tony's heart, something already fond turning into something adoring. "Pete, the thought never even crossed my mind. But it's adorable that you care." He teased, not one to get too emotional about things like these.

Peter blushed, ducking his head. "But what if I crash it! They're all too nice!"

"Don't be ridiculous. Just pick one. You're not actually gonna crash it, I was just kidding about that."

Peter looked doubtful, his hand fiddling with the hem of his sweatshirt. Tony sighed, looking up at him with a smile though it was rooted in something much sadder. "Kid, you don't think I'd have every car I owned be redesigned by yours truly to make it as crash proof as possible?"

Peter's brows furrowed so imperceptibly that even Tony wouldn't notice and he could feel a frown forming across his face. Of course. Tony's parents supposedly died in a crash, though they both knew the truth now. Of course Tony would do something like that. He didn't really know what to say after that, didn't know what he could say honestly. But Tony, who was so good at filling awkward silences and throwing out his one liners, filled the space in the air for him. "So go nuts Pete, I went the whole nine yards so don't worry 'bout a thing. And as a little incentive, either you pick a car in the next thirty seconds or I'm going to pick the one Rhodey had outfitted for me as a joke and make sure your friend Ned gets a copy."

Peter blinked, turning around to see what Tony was talking about. He didn't even have to ask to know which one was the joke car. It was a shimmery gold with a spray painted Iron Man armor stripping around a pole along the side. "Oh my God." Peter whirled around, hands pressed together in a pleading gesture, "Mr. Stark you can't! Oh my Godddd."

Tony laughed, crisp and teasing. "That car's only good for pissing off uptight politicians during national security meetings, but since you don't have any of those, I suggest you start choosing now." He glanced at his watch, "Oh look, you have fourteen seconds."

Panicking, Peter's eyes darted around wildly, "Uhhh….uhhh, okay, okay. Let's go….in…." Tony tapped at his watch, an annoyingly amused glitter in his eye, "that one!" Peter pointed towards a more nondescript black sedan and Tony nodded in approval.

"Good choice kid. Alright, DUM-E?" Tony called looking around.

The robot whirred somewhere in the back, "Get me my keys would you? The right ones please. I can't do this whole back and forth thing again."

Peter listened to DUM-E bumbling around, the sound of something crashing and Tony sighing as he rubbed at his nose. "What a goof." He said, but it didn't sound like an insult at all.

Finally, DUM-E rolled over, a set of keys in its claw, "Give it to the kid, go on." Tony cajoled.

Cocking its claw like it was asking a question, DUM-E turned to Peter, whirring softly. Adoration practically exploding in his heart, Peter took the keys eagerly, petting the robot on its claw energetically. "Thanks so much DUM-E you're the best. The bestest robot." He cooed, behind him, Tony hid his smile.

"Alright, alright, enough chit-chatting, we have lessons to learn."

Peter unlocked the car, slipping into the front seat, marveling at the high tech display and presentation. "Holy crap, this is so cool."

"Yup. Really cool. You know what else is cool? Safety." Tony reached forward, tugging Peter's seatbelt over his chest.

"Come on Mr. Stark, I didn't even start the car yet."

"Seatbelt before everything else! It's the only rule I subscribe to in life, that should really point out how important it is."

"Okay, okay, I know. Seatbelts are important. Got it. But what about all the actually cool stuff? Like these? What do those do?" he asked, bouncing a little in his seat as he gestured to all the dash buttons.

"In due time young Padawan. First, we need to get into the gear shifts and the pedals at your feet and how to use the AC, then we'll get to the buttons."

"I don't think the AC is as important as the pedals Mr. Stark." Peter said wryly.

"Oh yeah? You want to go driving in this post climate change weather with nothing but the sweat from your pits keeping you cool? Be my guest Peter."

Nose wrinkled in disgust, Peter shot him a look, "Gross Mr. Stark. Fine, okay, teach me oh great one." He gave a mock bow and satisfied, Tony went back into teacher mode.

When Tony was content with his theoretical knowledge, though it took practically forty minutes of being quizzed and twenty of Peter just straight up begging, Tony asked FRIDAY to open up the garage and let him finally leave the tower. Peter's hands gripped the wheel, a big smile on his face, "Oh my God, oh my God, I'm gonna drive a Porsche. I'm learning to drive in a _Porsche_ , Ned is gonna flip holy crap!"

Tony couldn't help but crack a grin in response to his excitement, patting his arm, "Okay, tone it down a little, let's give it a little gas, not too much, it's pretty sensitive, and let's just focus on getting out of the tower okay?"

"Yeah for sure, I totally got this." Peter nodded to himself, reversing slowly and turning the wheel straight.

"Okay, okay. This isn't so bad." He murmured to himself, maneuvering them out of the lot and into the open air parking lot. "Okay now what Mr. Stark?"

"How about you just try driving around the lot for now. You know, turns and braking and all that basic stuff."

"What?" he complained, "That's so boring! I'm totally ready to go out on the street." He pleaded, flashing Tony a pair of wide eyes and an overly keen smile.

"No way. Parking lot first. Then we'll talk about the roads. You gotta walk before you can run."

"You literally told me last week that sometimes you have to sprint before you can walk and that was your life motto." Peter deadpanned and with no response, Tony poked him in the cheek.

"Don't talk back young man, May raised you better."

So Peter rolled his eyes, but it was all in good nature and did as he was told, driving around the three tiered parking lot and working on signaling and not turning the wheel too hard or braking too suddenly. He was doing awesome if he said so himself, not to toot his own horn or anything, but sometimes a little self-preening was good for a kid. So, feeling all gung-ho and kumbaya about his connection to the wheels and the road, Peter announced, "Mr. Stark, I'm ready for real driving." And before Tony could really say anything about that at all, Peter swerved out onto the street and pressed on the gas.

Tony clutched at the top handle, mouth sputtering as Peter screeched to a stop, too close for comfort behind a red Mazda. "Red light Peter red light!"

"He stopped too late!" Peter protested.

Tony looked aghast, hand clutching his chest. "Peter. You have eyes. In fact, you have super sight. You can literally see better than anyone here." His voice getting consistently higher pitched.

Peter jut out his lip, "Sorry Mr. Stark, I'll be more careful, promise."

But, as it turned out, Peter Parker was a snot-nosed liar and the number of near misses and automated breaking mechanisms that had to be launched by the car itself probably whitened at least three hundred hairs on Tony's head. Peter for his part, lost his confidence somewhere between running a red light by accident and getting cut off by an angry driver when he was going too slow and was now full on panicking, steering practically with his eyes closed so he wouldn't have to see what he was doing.

"MR. STARK I REGRET MY LIFE DECISIONS!"

Peter glanced at Tony with wide eyes as he found himself squished between a truck and a tail-gaiting car behind him. Tony paused, making eye contact with his protégé to see the actual panic in his eyes and then turned to see what he was looking at. "Peter no. No, no, no. Abort mission. Abort mission!"

"I can't!"

Peter turned on the left signal to no avail, no one was letting him through and soon the two of them found themselves being pushed onto the ramp to enter the freeway and Peter was forced to push the gas to a hundred, making guttural pterodactyl noises. "Mr. Stark I can't do this I can't do this, Mr. Stark help!"

Full on parent mode kicking in, Tony steeled himself to be a calming presence and gripped Peter's shoulder tightly. "Kid, listen, it's going to be fine. Driving on highways is actually a lot easier than driving on normal roads, it's going to be okay. Start speeding up a little."

"Speeding? More?" Peter's voice cracked and Tony would have laughed if the kid wasn't so freaked.

"You need to merge into the other lane so you need to match that lane's speed okay?" his voice calm and low.

Peter took in a breath, glancing at him for just a second before nodding shakily, "O-Okay. Sure. Going faster, no problem. Sure, sure, sure."

"You're doing great kid." Tony encouraged, watching as the speedometer rose higher.

"Now turn on the signal and keep looking at your blind spot and just get into the lane okay."

Peter bit his lip, doing as he was told, his knuckles white around the steering wheel before he muttered a quick, "Come on Peter, just turn." And swerving the car into the left lane letting out a whoop of relief, "HAH! I did it! I'm driving on the highway!"

Tony collapsed against his seat, sighing, feeling drained of at least seventeen years of existence. "Yup kid. You're doing it. Now take the first goddamn exit you see and let's get back home to solid ground."

"I don't know Mr. Stark, I think I've gotten the hang of-"

The glare Tony sent his way was enough to send him in an awkward burst of laughter before shutting up. "Yeah, okay. Let's go home."

Not wanting to completely discourage the kid but also not wanting to die, Tony didn't force him to pullover so he could take over, but did direct him on a much longer route home, but one that took much slower and less complicated roads. They arrived back at the tower, Peter brimming over with a mostly unfounded sense of accomplishment and Tony feeling like a goddamned refugee who'd finally found asylum. "Oh thank God. Thank _God._ " Tony turned to Peter, mostly kidding, but also kind of not, "Peter, you made an atheist a believer, are you proud of yourself?"

Peter snorted, putting the car in park and turning it off, "Mr. Stark, it wasn't _that_ bad. We didn't even die."

"And yet we've come so close we might as well have." Tony quipped.

Peter deflated a little, looking down. "I'm sorry Mr. Stark, I know I'm kind of…well…not that great, but I swear I was trying to be good, I promise! But I know I stressed you out a lot so it's okay if you don't want to do this anymore, I completely understand, so I'm just gonna-"

Too tired to yell to out-talk him, Tony just clapped a hand over Peter's mouth, mouth twitching at the startled and slightly offended look in his eyes. "Peter. I don't trust anyone else on the _planet_ to teach you. You're stuck with me buddy."

Peter, used to his allergy to emotions and his way of saying something and implying something so much more, looked up at him from the corner of his eye, looking adorable and shy. "Yeah?" he asked, quiet and hopeful.

Tony sniffed, looking away, hand already reaching for the door handle. "Yeah. Now get out of my car and go put on a movie or something I need to be immobile for at least ten hours."

Peter grinned, his normal exuberance bursting through. "Sure thing Mr. Stark! We're gonna watch The Iron Giant because it's kinda like an Iron Man AU."

"An A what?"

It's months into their friendship that May and Tony both realize they're half Italian on their mothers' sides. "Everything makes so much sense. I knew I got vivacious Italian vibes from you." Tony said, clapping his hands together.

May rolled her eyes, settling in further into the couch. The three of them are in the apartment having just got back from seeing _Hamilton_. Peter had been humming the music to it for the past two weeks and it was driving May and Tony insane. Thinking that just seeing the show would help him get it out of his system, Tony bought three tickets, drove to pick them up and threw them all in their seats to sit for a couple hours and see how the founding fathers were just so much more ridiculous than they really ought to be. May invited him up for some drinks and Peter was still too high-strung and high on the thrill of seeing his current hyper-focused passion of the week live to really say goodbye anyway.

"Can't say I'm a real Italian though. I only ever really learned how to make a good sauce. Never got the actual _al dente_ part right thought." May lamented.

"Well that's a coincidence. I always mess up the sauce but I make a tender pasta." Tony waggled his brows and May snorted.

Attention caught, Peter turned on them, "Hey! We should host a dinner party! You can make the pasta and May can make the sauce and I can make the meat balls!"

"Since when do you know how to make meatballs?" May accused, swirling her drink casually.

"I can learn!" Peter defended, "There's Google and Vision- walking Google- and how hard can it really be?"

"I don't think Tony has time to be cooking everyone dinner baby."

"No, no, hold on. This might be good. Bruce's been strutting around the tower all passively aggressively being superior just because he made one lasagna-"

"- it was a pretty great lasagna though Mr. Stark."

"-which wasn't even that incredible or anything," Tony carried on as though Peter had said nothing at all, "so this could be good." He pulled out his phone, flicking through his calendar, "How does this Friday sound? Let's say seven?"

May pursed her lips in thought, "I should be okay with that. I'll swing by after work to get some stuff and then we can subway over."

Tony waved his hand, "Don't worry about any of the ingredients I got it covered."

May shot him an amused look, "I'll have you know that this recipe has secret ingredients even you don't know about. I got this Stark, don't worry about it. This is a joint dinner party and I'll be doing my part thank you."

"Yeah, Mr. Stark. We got this."

Tony got a flash then, of Peter looking awkward at accepting any of his financial kindnesses and smiled to himself. May raised a good one. "Alright, alright, I'm backing off." He raised his hands defensively in mirth.

Satisfied, May turned to Peter, "So you'll meet me at home?"

"I patrol on Fridays though, can I just meet you there?" he asked, trying to look as cute as possible.

"Alright, that's okay." May caved.

"Great." Tony announced, "But if you won't let me buy the food, then you'll at least let me tell Happy to come get you, I don't trust subways. Just text him where you're going to be. As for me, I'm going to get FRIDAY to send the most obnoxious invitations to those two." He paused, "Less obnoxious ones for Rhodey and Pepper."

"Oh, how is Pepper? I haven't seen her in ages." May asked.

"Oh you know, still holding me by the balls and whatnot."

"Mr. Stark!" Peter screeched, looking scandalized beyond repair. "I mean, it's true, but you shouldn't say it."

Tony laughed so hard the wine almost spurt out right through his nose.

Friday came along and Peter enjoyed burning through all his calories swinging around the city knowing he had a big meal to come home to. He had made the meat with all the seasonings and perfectly rounded each one the night before for May to take to the tower to add into the pasta and couldn't wait to scarf all of it all down. He asked Karen for the time, noting he had about twenty-fiveish minutes to make it on time and decided to call it a day patrolling. He swung between buildings, loving the rush of the air against his body before he saw a man towering over a teenaged boy with his hand bunched into his pocket in the tell-tale sign of hiding a gun. Or at least pretending to.

The kid looked terrified and Peter felt a swell of empathy. The terror of being mugged wasn't something he was unfamiliar with and he watched as the teen stuck his hand shakily into his back pocket to pull out his wallet. Determined to teach the mugger a lesson, Peter launched a web to the building across from him and directly behind the man and pushed his body through the air only to realize too late that he would hit the construction scaffolding of the building right next to him too late. Panicking, Peter choked on a scream as a piece of metal jutting out scraped into his side, tearing his suit and slicing through his skin with a scream. Caught by the pulses of pain, Peter's grip loosened from his web, knocking off his angle of entry. He smashed into the wall, tumbling to the ground. He wasn't sure if he was screaming. His head was full of sand. His body was inside the earth. Everything was grainy, he couldn't focus, why couldn't he- and like a holy grail brimming over with blood, the pain sharpened his brain where it was once mush and Peter leapt into action.

The mugger was staring at him in horror, looking like he was actually concerned but also knowing he was so far in the wrong. Peter pulled himself, fire licking at his belly. He pulled his fingers to the side and saw them stained copper. He looked back at the mugger, at the fear on that kid's face, and without even thinking about it, not even for a second, he shot a web into his side, hissing as the chemicals burned against him. His skin was pulled taut and it was horrible to move because he could feel each little cell trying to pull away and then being grabbed back, but it stopped the bleeding and his head felt a little clearer and he looked at the mugger, back straight and mask eyes ominously narrowed, "I'm giving you one shot to get out of here." And for once in his life, he didn't sound like a child playing make belief in daddy's clothes and the mugger nodded jerkily, pulling his hands from his pocket and sprinting away.

He never had a gun.

The kid looked at Peter- Spiderman- with wide eyes before stumbling over to him, shaking. "A-are you okay?" his hands fluttered around him like he wanted to touch him but didn't know if he could.

Peter swayed on his feet, trying to steady himself. "I'm good. Thanks man. You should probably get to wherever you're going to though."

"Are you sure? I can call someone." He fumbled in his pocket for his phone but Peter held up a hand to silence him.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it. I'm Spiderman." He tried to be lighthearted, but the adrenaline died and the pain pulsed brighter like a supernova, "Gotta jet man. Be safe!"

Using the better half of his body, Peter swung up onto the roof and started running. He knew that if he called Tony, he'd come flying to get him. But this was a special night and May had gone all the way to the tower and he was sure they were having fun cooking together and he didn't want to ruin it because he hadn't been paying better attention. Plus, the webbing was a good temporary solution and he'd heal fast and the wound wasn't deep or anything, just long and shallow. It was practically more of an aesthetic injury than anything, it'd be fine. So Peter ran to the tower despite the burning he felt from the inside out and when he arrived, he clasped his hands together and pulled off his mask to look more vulnerable, "FRIDAY, please don't tell May and Mr. Stark I'm here."

"That is…unusual Peter."

"I know, but I need to do something real quick and then I'll go right to them, I promise!" he tried to look as doe-eyed as possible though he knew it probably wouldn't matter but then he swore he heard FRIDAY sigh even though that _definitely_ shouldn't have been possible.

"As you wish Peter. I'll keep this information to myself."

He beamed, "Thanks FRI, you're the best."

Peter zoomed to his lab, aiming to dab some of his dissolving formula onto the webbing and then go to MedBay and get some real bandages. Truthfully, he wasn't really sure if it was safe to put the fluid near a, you know, gaping open wound prone to infection, but he didn't really have a choice. It was either get it off now or have the webbing dissolve on its own in a couple hours and that was just…not ideal. No one was inside as Peter rummaged through his desk to find what he was looking for, letting out a satisfied, "Aha!" as he popped the vial open.

Pressing on the spider, his suit fell off of him and he lay down on the table to get a better look at the webs. Slowly, Peter poured the liquid atop of him, peeling the webbing off as he went. He was almost starting to smile because holy shit? It was actually working? And he wasn't convulsing from toxic shock? When he heard voices in the hall and immediately switched gears.

"Peter was actually making all that stuff inside his classroom?" May said, sounding torn between shaking her head and laughing, "That kid's gonna kill me, I swear."

Tony laughed, "You can't say he isn't innovative. But don't worry, now he does all his science stuff in a very contained, very safe space supervised by yours truly."

"I know for a fact you blow up your own labs so that's not as helpful as you think it is." May said dryly.

Peter panicked, caught between finishing his process or all out hiding because they were going to _kill him_ but the decision was made for him as the door flew open and the lights all turned on one by one and Tony had his arms spread out like the extra host he was saying, "May, the lab." In an overly formal tone but then May was yelling and then Tony was turning around and he was yelling and Peter just let his head fall onto the desk because well, it was the endgame now.

"Peter!" May rushed towards him, "What happened to you?!"

Tony took one look at him, face twisted in a flurry of emotions before turning to the ceiling, "FRI, why wasn't I informed that Peter came back and came back looking like that?" and his voice was doing that tightly controlled thing that Peter knew only meant trouble and he looked at May to save him but one look at her and he knew she was throwing him overboard alongside Tony.

"Peter requested I keep his presence hidden. I'm sorry boss."

Tony shook his head, "I need to override that. You've lost your AI sweet-talking privileges kid, not to mention-" Tony paused, gawking at the webs still half stuck to his side and the gash they covered, "-hold up. Stop. Pause." he said, making all the motions with his hands looking two steps away from a breakdown, "Tell me you didn't spontaneously stick together a cut the size of Kansas with your _web fluid_."

Peter looked away guiltily. "I could tell you that. But it'd be a lie."

"Peter." Tony sounded strangled, "FRI get Bruce down here asap please."

May was holding his hand and rubbing at his curls, "Peter why didn't you call us? This is serious! We had a deal."

"I know, I'm sorry May, but I didn't want to cause a big mess and ruin everything, but all I did anyway was cause a whole thing. I'm sorry guys."

He couldn't look at either of them.

Tony sighed walking up to his other side and squeezing his nose so that Peter startled, looking up at him with offended eyes. "You should one hundred percent be sorry. But not for ruining our night. For not telling us that you were hurt and then pulling this stunt. How many times do we have to tell you that your safety is our number one priority?"

"Tony's right Peter. You have to come to us with this stuff. No matter what else is happening."

Peter shrunk inwards, lip curling into something like a pout. "I just…I just hate being a burden." He whispered, like he was too small to fit inside the world.

"A burden?" Tony's face scrunched, "How could you ever think you were a burden? You're the opposite of a burden, what's the opposite of that?"

"A pleasure." May interjected, letting out a puff of amusement at Tony's antics, "You're a pleasure to care about and think about and we're never going to stop doing those things so you might as well just tell us so we don't have to find out about the bad things like this."

Peter's eyes widened and he could feel them watering slightly. He hid his face away, wiping non-subtly at his eyes. Tony, now having entered fully into emotions territory, coughed gruffly and pat him on the shoulder maybe a little too jerkily, "Yeah, what she said."

Peter snorted, breaking out into a bout of laughter that got May laughing as well and even Tony to jerk his lips into a smile. Right on time, Bruce came into the lab, looking flustered. "What's the emergency!"

"Spiderkid got himself in some webbing trouble, can you help him out?" Tony pointed with his thumb and Peter waved awkwardly.

Eventually, they found themselves finally at the dinner table, a delicious spread of bread, salads, and pasta laid out before them. Debating between eating a meatball first or some garlic bread, May interrupted his musings, "You know Peter, that webbing idea you had really wasn't that bad. If I wasn't worried about the chemical interactions with your blood and the chance of infection, I'd say it was pretty revolutionary."

"I was thinking the same thing." Bruce ventured, twirling his spaghetti around his fork, "If we modified the formula a bit, maybe made it more malleable so you could move better and change the chemical composition, this could actually really move emergency medicine along."

Tony grinned, looking immensely proud. "Pete, I think you accidentally found a goldmine."

"What? No way. I wasn't even thinking about any of that, I just panicked and then," he waved his hand around, "you know."

"The best discoveries were all accidents." Bruce shrugged.

May smiled encouragingly, "I think you're onto something Peter, maybe you should explore it."

"Seriously? Because that would be so cool. Holy." Peter's excitement was picking up but the final blow came when Bruce turned his head at him, shy and soft.

"I'd love to help you out with it if you wanted to. With my biomed background and your chemical knowhow, we could definitely figure it out."

Peter could barely contain his whoop for joy, "Are you kidding? Inventing things with _the_ Doctor Banner? Of course I'm down!"

Bruce, overwhelmed by the positivity, looked away, but not without a soft smile, Thor clapping him on the back in pride. "And May, you should totally help too since you're a nurse and you know all about that kinda stuff."

May started in surprise, "Me? I don't know…I'm not an inventor or anything."

"But you have something even more important than that," Tony said wryly, "actual emergency medicine experience."

May laughed, "Well that's true. Sure, Peter, I'd love to help you."

Peter cheered and the rest of the dinner party went down much the same, with jokes and laughter and happiness all around. A couple days later, Peter woke up to a text sent at 3 am from Tony.

 _I expanded your lab to accommodate your new extra-curriculars. Let FRI know if you need anything, but I think you'll find it pretty well-equipped_

 _And don't go trying to say anything about not being necessary, I did it because I wanted to and because I want you to succeed, so nothing but the best_

 _Remember the lab rules kid, Bruce's just as bad as me_

And then somewhere at 3: 44

 _Really excited to see what you come up with kid. You're gonna surpass us all one day_

Warmth flooded through Peter's entire body. Tony liked to pretend a lot, but Peter saw through it all.

 _Mr. Stark you're the best_

 _Thanks for everything!_

 _I hope I can make you proud_

Immediately after,

 _Already am Pete_

Tony's icon went offline just a second after and Peter snorted at his mentor's inability to confront emotions. But it was okay. They both knew what they wanted to say anyway.

* * *

They get the flyer in homeroom on Thursday. They're all in grade twelve, all of them set to graduate and go off and do amazing things in whatever universities or colleges or fellowships or internships they're applying to. The problem really, is that in a school of geniuses, everyone's good at everything and no one knows what they actually _like_ doing.

Midtown's solution?

The infamous Career Fair.

There was something kind of snooty about going to a private school for technology and science. An implied sort of assumption that your parents were rich and successful. It wasn't odd for Peter to meet someone in his year whose mom helped discover a gene that could predict some insidious disease or meet someone whose dad helped redefine what the word quantum physics meant. And then there was him, Peter Parker, nephew of the best police officer the city had ever seen and the kindest nurse to ever grace a hospital. Peter was fiercely proud of his family and all they had accomplished but he also knew that all that didn't matter in a place like Midtown and all its competition.

The Career Fair was supposed to be a fun half day event where the school invited big companies to scout out the talent. Parents of students got priority pickings to represent their industry and it was mostly a fun way to show off and educate and encourage kids to dream big. For Peter though, it was just an excuse for Flash to be himself in all his dickhead glory.

"My dad's going to bring all of InterCorp's new prototypes to the fair, it's going to be the coolest booth there." Flash bragged, sitting atop his desk like he was a king looking down on his meagre subjects.

Ned rolled his eyes, turning to Peter with a can-you-believe-this-guy expression. "He's so full of himself honestly." Ned said, packing his stuff up into his bag, "It's honestly kind of sad."

Peter quirked a grin, but couldn't think of anything to say. "So are you going to bring your mom in to talk about her new project?" he asked instead, watching with an actual smile as Ned's face lit up.

"I hope so! I don't know if she's too busy right now but it'd be so cool to watch her go through her process."

"Is she getting any closer to figuring out how to use the nanobots?"

"I'm not sure honestly, she mostly-" Flash jumped onto the floor, cutting Ned off as he strolled over to them, a wide smirk on his face.

"Hey Penis, I heard Stark Industries still isn't participating in the fair this year even though they supposedly have an "intern" here." Flash sneered.

Peter jut out his jaw, "Just because I intern there doesn't mean the entire company needs to be in my shadow Flash."

Flash shrugged, looking dangerously nonchalant, "No, no, it makes sense. You can't even bring your aunt here, let alone bring your fake boss." He paused, leading to the finale, "I mean, I guess you could bring May, she could always bring in a couple bandages and a tourniquet in for show and tell? Because your aunt's just a nurse right?"

Peter felt his heart thud in his chest, his fingers curling around his books just a fraction tighter. "Being a nurse is one of the hardest jobs out there and you shouldn't be disrespecting people whose jobs it is to save lives."

"Yeah Flash, back off." Ned jumped in, stepping in front of Peter just a tad, just enough for Peter to know that he had his back.

Peter really loved the guy.

"Sorry, did your aunt become a doctor in the past week or is she still just the person who wipes people's asses."

Peter's eyes flashed and a small part of him, the part of him that was still seventeen and young and stupid, wanted to shove Flash into the wall. But the bigger part of him, the part that preached about responsibility and his super strength and being better than he was the day before, held him back. May would expect better of him. Ben would too. And Mr. Stark's _been_ expecting better. "I don't know why you feel the need to say stuff like that Flash. You don't even know her." And holding his books with one arm, he pulled Ned's sleeve and walked away.

"Holy shit dude. You should see his face, wow. Man, Peter, I don't know how you have that kind of self-control, you're the shit man." Ned gushed.

Peter looked up from behind his curls and tried to smile. "I hate when he says stuff like that. It isn't true and May deserves so much better."

Ned changed tones immediately, hauling him in for a side hug. "Are you kidding? May's the best. Everyone knows that. Flash's just a dick."

Peter nodded, taking the stupid career day flyer and stuffing it in his backpack. May was also too busy to be able to do this kinda stuff anyway.

An hour or so later, Peter's phone pinged with a text, something warm bubbling in him when he saw who it was from.

 _Hey kid, Thor and Bruce tried making cookies today and because Thor's an overzealous idiot, they made 148_

 _I need a kid with a high metabolism to eat them all_

 _Wait, make that 137, Thor ate 11 in 1 go_

 _Shit, now Bruce is yelling_

 _I know you're in school, just swing by after, Happy'll get you_

 _ **peace sign emoji**_

Peter scrolled through the messages, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. Ever since Thor moved into the tower bringing with him all his Asgardians, life had been quite the show. It made Peter really happy though, because for the first time in a long time, the tower wasn't empty anymore and it showed in the hustle and bustle that flowed through the halls, the shrieks of laughter you could hear from any floor, and the lightness of Mr. Stark's face that hadn't been there before.

Phone hidden under the table, Peter tried his best to text back, shooting a quick reply of

 _Cookies!_

And going back to paying attention to calculus and the glazed look in everyone else's eyes.

True to his word, Mr. Stark sent Happy over to pick him up and the two sat in companiable silence for the trip. "Thanks Happy!" Peter called as Happy pulled into the private driveway.

Happy waved him off, "Sure thing kid, now get outta here, I have a show to watch."

Peter strode inside the building, following his noise and the distinctive smell of slightly charred chocolate chip cookies until he reached the common room where he saw Thor, dressed in a much too small apron with frills all along the side holding an icing tube, lips scrunched in concentration. "How are you supposed to make such intricate designs with such terrible tools?!" he boomed, throwing down the offending tool in a huff.

Bruce sighed from next to him, patting him on the back, something like fondness in his eyes, "It's an art Thor, you can't expect to master it in twenty seconds."

"I am a god. I should be able to master anything in twenty seconds."

Bruce rolled his eyes, "Okay, go for it then you muscle-headed barbie doll."

Peter couldn't help but laugh, laughing even harder as both of them shot their heads up looking faintly embarrassed and caught in the act. "Hi Mr. Thor, Dr. Banner." Peter waved.

"Young Peter!" Thor smiled, brilliant like a lightning storm, striding over to him, "Did Anthony bring you here to sample our delicious creations?"

"Yup! I'm pretty excited to be honest. A god's never made me cookies before." Peter grinned sliding onto one of the barstools, "Is Mr. Stark here by the way?"

"I've made him aware of your presence and he's currently on his way down." FRIDAY answered.

"Thanks FRI!"

Peter helped himself to one of the unfrosted cookies, pleasantly surprised at the normalness of the taste. "This is pretty good guys. Like, really good!"

Bruce smiled, nibbling away at his own. "Well feel free to eat your way through them. _Someone_ didn't bother to learn about measurement proportions before making all the dough."

Halfway through chewing, Peter let his face fall onto his hand, "Why didn't you just save the rest in the fridge for later?"

Thor and Bruce blinked. "Oh my God." Bruce said, looking slightly horrified at himself.

Thor turned to him poking him in the cheek repeatedly. "Where are you seven PhD's now Banner? Wh-ere."

Always with good timing, Tony chose that exact moment to stride into the room, looking chiseled out of marble as usual. "Spiderling." He greeted, "Idiots who can't bake."

Tony clapped Peter on the shoulder, leaning over him to grab another cookie, "So, how was school squirt. Anything mildly interesting happen?"

Peter thought about the career fair flyer and then quickly pushed the thought straight out of his head into the dumpster fire that lurked in the back of his mind constantly. "Nope. Absolutely nothing. How about you?"

Tony fixed him with a look, chewing slowly, but luckily, decided not to press the issue. "I learned that robots are actually terrible assistants and DUM-E tried to poison me again today. I don't think he realizes that I'm immune to death threats now." He mused.

Peter raised a brow, "That's…not ideal."

Tony shrugged, walking towards one of the cabinets and pulling out a Tupperware container. "Oh, great idea Tony." Bruce said, taking it from his friend and stuffing it full with cookies, "You can take these to your aunt."

Tony pulled out another one, "And one for your friend too. I hope he likes chocolate chip."

"Ned's actually a bit of a cookie snob. But I think he'll loosen his standards for the Hulk and Thor so."

Thor beamed, puffing out his chest, "Your friend has good taste in heroes indeed."

Eyes lighting up, Peter kicked his feet excitedly against the counter, "Actually! Something interesting did happen at school, Mr. Thor, you're a math question!"

Tony frowned, looking slightly put out. "Well that's just exclusionary."

"Don't worry Mr. Stark, we had to calculate the trajectory of Iron Man flying in a parabola when I was in grade ten. You're just not…advanced enough to be in this class." He teased, snickering at Tony's indignant expression.

Peter rifled through his backpack, finally pulling out a bright red binder, not noticing when his bag fell and spilled the rest of its contents onto the floor. "Look at this, 'if Thor's hammer has a mass of 1.5x10^4 kg and accelerates at 220 metres per second for twenty-nine seconds from an initial speed of 5200 metres per second, how fast will it be traveling at twenty-two seconds?" Peter pointed towards the little picture of Thor throwing a hammer in a cute cartoon style next to the question and Thor looked mildly impressed at the bulge of his biceps.

He turned to Bruce, "Doctor, what is the correct response?"

Bruce rolled his eyes, "Are you seriously comparing my doctorate to grade twelve math?"

Thor looked at him expectantly. Bruce sighed. "Eleven thousand five hundred and eighty."

Peter grinned, "Right!"

Tony crossed his arms, "So is the whole test like that?" peering over Peter's shoulder.

"Not really. But Mr. Harrison always makes the bonus questions funny like this one. It keeps us on our toes you know?"

Peter was so caught up with showing Thor the rest of his themed questions that he didn't notice when Tony's attention was torn away from him and towards the scattered papers on the floor. Tony bent down, rummaging through them to put them back in his bag when a bright orange flyer caught his eye.

MIDTOWN SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CAREER FAIR

Midtown is delighted to invite the parents of all students to represent their place of work and teach your peers about what they do and how students can apply to work with them. Representatives from the country's most esteemed and prestigious companies will all be present to be asked your questions and tell you more about their ongoing projects and opportunities for careers. Sign up to have a slot by November 17!

Tony furrowed his brow as he read through it, slightly put out that Peter wouldn't have mentioned it. He wondered briefly, if Stark Industries had gotten an invitation and made a mental note to ask Pepper about it later. From the crumpled state of the paper, it didn't look like Peter cared much about it, though a fair was precisely the kind of place Tony thought Peter would thrive in.

"Hey Peter, this sounds pretty neat." He said, deciding to just dive in for the plunge.

Peter cocked his head, looking slightly confused before seeing where Tony was pointing at and immediately freezing up. "Y-yeah, I guess so."

Tony narrowed his eyes, "What? Is it secretly an unorganized mess every year that no one comes to?"

"No…it's actually a really big deal and kids even outside of Midtown come to it to check out all the panels and booths and stuff."

"So the bad side is…?" Tony asked, dragging out the last word.

Face crumpling, Peter took the flyer and crumpled it tighter, shooting a perfect arc into the trash can. "Nothing. It's just that it's specifically made for a specific kind of industry and if you're not techy then…"

Tony didn't need to be a genius to figure out where he was going with that statement and his brows furrowed in irritation. What a bunch of pompous assholes. But Tony must've opened a flood because Peter suddenly couldn't stop talking, "And it bothers me so much because May is the most amazing nurse ever and she helps hundreds of people every day and being a nurse is such an important job but nobody there cares because she's not on some Top 100 discoveries that changed the world magazine and it's so stupid!"

"I know kid, the science world can be real elitist. May deserves a lot more credit than she's given."

"Exactly!" Peter gestured adamantly, riled up.

"Don't worry Pete, I think I've got an idea." Tony pulled his hand away from Peter's shoulder turning to his phone, fingers tapping away wildly.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter's head tilted in confusion.

But Tony just waved a finger at him, "Ah-ah. No questions, I got some work to do."

Peter gaped after him while Bruce and Thor just shrugged. "He gets that way sometimes." Bruce offered as explanation.

When he got home, May looked particularly giddy, like she just brimming with excitement. But when he pressed her on it, she mimed zipping her mouth shut and told him he'd know soon enough. It was three days later when Tony called him, crazy loud gusts of winds ruining Peter's hearing.

"Hey Peter." Tony more or less yelled and Peter had to plug his left ear to hear him better.

"Mr. Stark? What's all that noise?"

"Just getting in a helicopter, the noise practically defeats the usefulness though." He complained, "Hold on, I'm gonna switch you onto the headset and….there!" the noise disappeared until all he could hear was Tony's crisp voice and Peter sighed.

"Yeah, that's better. What's up Mr. Stark?"

"So, you know how you and Brucie are in the prototype stage?"

"Yeahhh?"

"Well I've been talking to some people and we think this could get really huge. So I'm bringing over a patent lawyer and obviously, as a greedy billionaire, I want to gobble you both up. But I think it's important as a youngin' to be given the real entrepreunrial experience, so May's set you up with a meeting with the board at her hospital chain to pitch the idea and get a backer."

Peter felt like he was swaying but he was sure he was lying down on his bed. "Wha-?"

"I know this is probably a lot to digest, but your idea has some huge impact possibilities and you're going so many places kid so it's good to start building those selling skills from now."

"Mr. Stark this is too much, I can't-"

"You definitely one hundred percent can."

"I don't even know what to say. This is…this is literally my dream you know? I don't…"

Tony's voice softened like the rain, "Kid, you have so much potential it's insane. And all those dreams? I want you to achieve each and every one, and if I can help you do them? How could I not? You deserve all of this Pete."

Peter bit his lip, overwhelmed. "Thank you Mr. Stark. You don't have to do any of this and I really appreciate it."

There was a lot more Peter wanted to say, so many more emotions he wanted to let gush into the world. But Tony would probably short-circuit and he didn't want that at all so Peter stuck to his thank you and hoped that Tony absorbed how genuine he was. How much love there was in those words.

"Of course I have to, you're my crime fighting accidental genius protégé. It's practically a movie." He joked and Peter grinned on reflex.

"Sounds like a pretty cool movie. Maybe RDJ can play you, you guys look so alike it's freaky honestly."

Tony sniffed, "I don't recall who that is."

Peter burst into laughter, "Don't be petty Mr. Stark. May didn't mean it."

"She said he had better facial hair than me! No one has better facial hair than me!"

Peter opened his mouth but Tony must have sensed his shit-eating grin because he immediately burst, "If you bring up the wizard I'm disowning you."

"So you admit that he's good looking!"

The dial tone rang in his ear and Peter still couldn't stop laughing. The text came a second later.

 _You are a terrible child_

Peter cackled as he typed back:

 _3 3 3 3_

* * *

The board investor meeting went pretty well for the most part. Peter was terribly nervous the whole time, but May and Tony's presences were enough to calm him down. Him and Bruce did their presentation like they practiced and by the end of it, they got a modest investment that would give the hospital 20% of the profits. Tony praised him in his usual twisted way and went on about what a genius he was and how he was going to take the world by the storm and May pressed kisses into his forehead and raved about her baby was growing up.

The thrill of creating a product that could help millions of people all over the world and being validated by some of the leading professionals in the field kept Peter on the kind of high that had him ignoring the preparations around him for the career fair. It wasn't until the day actually arrived that Peter remembered it at all. Sure, the entire concept was pretty classist and exclusionary, but Peter knew that May would want him to walk around and enjoy himself, not to mention how incredulous Mr. Stark would be if he didn't play around with all the prototypes and harass every scientist for their trade secrets. With Ned at his side, the two sped through the assembly hall playing with robots and beakers and vials before drifting off to the stage to watch some of the panel discussions and presentations.

Ned grabbed a pamphlet on their way to two seats right in the middle, skimming it thoughtfully. "Yo man check it out, there's a surprise guest! I hope it's something about aliens."

Peter laughed, leaning over his friend's shoulder to see. "I don't know about aliens…but that'd be pretty cool."

Even if it wasn't aliens, the rest of the line-up seemed interesting enough, he knew most of the big ones, companies likes Alphabet, Tesla, EnergyCorp, but then there were some he had never heard of, namely, EmerSpray. He pointed at it, letting his chin rest on Ned, "Whaddya think that is?"

Ned blew out a breath humming, "Hair spray?"

Peter snorted and was about to say something when the lights dimmed and the stage lit up. "Hello Midtown, my name is Kayla and I'll be your MC for today…"

The presentations went off without a hitch and Peter couldn't help but be impressed with the array of technological advancements and visions for the future the world was coming up with. Everything was crazy incredible and if he wasn't already hyped, he was definitely through the roof now. "Next up, we have a new company redefining emergency medicine."

Peter perked up, curious about an innovation in what he supposed was his field now. He sat straighter in his seat watching as a couple walked on stage before his jaw dropped, "No way. No waayyyyyy!" he whisper hissed, hitting Ned on the arm repeatedly.

Ned hit him back, excitement flush on his face. "Holy shit! Peter! Is that May and Dr. freaking Bruce Banner?"

"Holy shit Ned." Peter couldn't say anything more, eyes glued to the stage.

Briefly, he remembered Mr. Stark's knowing smirk and the way he ruffled his hair when he said he'd take care of it. He remembered May's secretive smile when she kissed him on the cheek goodbye this morning. His heart filled and filled until he thought he might burst but he kept a lid on his feelings so he could hear everything the two had to say. May looked beautiful in her work suit and even Bruce looked refined in what must have been clothes from Tony's closet. Behind them, a student wheeled in a demonstration table with a series of boxes hiding the contents atop it.

"Hi Midtown, I'm May Parker, Chief Medical Consultant for EmerSpray, the world's first spray on adhesive to temporary seal wounds of all types in time to take patients to a hospital to receive treatment. The product is effective, non-toxic, and cost-effective and is currently in its final stages of production. In fact, one of its co-producers is popular Avenger and holder of multiple PhD's, Dr. Bruce Banner." May gestured for Bruce to come up to the mike with her and the crowd roared in approval.

Bruce, bless him, waved shyly to the crowd, one hand rubbing at his lip. "H-hi everyone. Great to be here. Like May said, I'm currently working on perfecting this product, mostly from a medical biology perspective with my partner. A thing about this guy I'm working with," Bruce smiled, genuine and confident, "this was all his idea actually, he had developed the first prototype all on his own and had one helluva a proof of concept," May pulled her lip and Peter didn't know whether to laugh or hide, "all we did was help move him along. So while I'd love to take all the credit for this one, the bulk of it goes to Peter Parker."

The crowd went silent and Peter felt all eyes suddenly on him. He felt ridiculously lightheaded and vaguely, he could hear Flash hiss, "What the fuck?!"

But before the crowd could stare at him anymore, May cleared her throat. "The thing about innovation is that it's a collaborative process. People think that just because you didn't graduate with a degree in nanotechnology or gamma radiation, means you can't add a valuable perspective to the advancement of that field. When it comes to creating a product to help hospitals, you need to know what the needs of that hospital are, what are the current ways of doing things? Where are the inefficiencies? Science without societal input hinders science's ability to push society forward. I never graduated with a science degree, I didn't even graduate with an MD. I'm a nurse and I'm proud of that and I work with hospitals across the city to coordinate the best level of care for our patients."

Bruce nodded, "Without May's valuable insight, EmerSpray wouldn't be the product that it is. With that, we'd like to give a proper demonstration."

Peter watched as they went through the demonstration they did for the hospital and felt a swell at pride for May as she explained the process of how it worked and why and how it could really help paramedics, especially in rural areas far from medical sites. May was amazing, utterly incredible and now everyone was finally seeing it and everyone could take their stupid opinions about how smart a person was based on nothing but their assumptions about what their job meant and shove it. He was so happy for her. She deserved all the recognition and all the praise. Mostly, he wanted to hug her tight. Mr. Stark too.

Everything Tony had been doing lately made sense. Getting May involved, taking him to that meeting, spurring his research along. He was trying to set everything up for this moment. Just because he thought Peter wanted it. All of this, doing all of this for May and him it was…it was too much. Peter couldn't help the swell of emotions in his throat. Tony did so much for him. For everyone.

When May and Bruce finished, Peter threw himself up in a standing ovation. Kayla came back on stage, "Wow, that was a great presentation, thank you so much for coming Ms. Parker and Dr. Banner." Peter didn't really care to wait for the next presentation, he wanted to go congratulate the pair and call Tony, so he squeezed Ned's shoulder, squishing past people's knees out of the aisle.

"Now, I'm sure you're all excited over our secret guest. I'll admit, I was crazy surprised when I found out who it was and I know you all will be too." She smiled, her eyes glittering.

Peter finally pulled out from the cramped aisle, walking down the carpet when Kayla's next words kept him frozen in his tracks. "So without further ado, a man that needs no introduction, Tony Stark from Stark Industries!"

The crowd cheered even louder than before and Peter swiveled around unable to believe it. He stood, shock still as Tony, dressed in his usual designer suit and shades strolled onto the stage like he was a fashion model. Despite everything, Peter couldn't help but shake his head fondly.

That guy never changed.

"Hey Midtown!" Tony greeted, shooting kisses from his fingers bent into peace signs.

Tony stood centre stage, feet spread apart and hands clasped behind his back. "I'm sure you're all wondering why SI came this year of all years. What's different? What happened to make today unique?" he paused, staring into the crowd, "Well I'll tell you what's new. For the first time in its history, SI will launch a high-school and university internship program for each of our departments including the Avengers Initiative." Furtive whispers and shoulder smacking spattered through the crowd and Tony grinned, "I've always been a futurist, but it wasn't until I met one particular young man that I realized what more I could be doing to help cultivate that future."

And like Tony could pinpoint exactly where he was, because Tony would always find him, no matter where he was or what he was doing, Tony would be there when Peter needed him, and that Peter knew without a doubt, Tony pointed at him. "Peter come up to the stage please."

Peter gaped at him and Tony just quirked his lip in a half smile, "Yes you Peter, what other Peters do I know?' he paused, cocking his head, "Well high school Peters. Come on, my arm's starting to cramp." He beckoned him over and Peter felt his legs move on their own accord.

"That's the spirit." Tony grinned.

When Peter walked on, he could feel everyone's stares boring into him but all the half thoughts of anxieties that might have crawled into his belly dissipated when Tony threw his arm around his shoulder and pulled him in. "Let me reintroduce you to Peter Parker. He is currently the only intern at SI and has helped me work on a variety of projects, most notably the Iron Man suits, the Spiderman suit, Avengers tech and of course, the renewable energy city projects. And it's because of his incredible work that I've decided to open up the program to one hundred other students just like yourselves."

Tony squeezed Peter's shoulder flashing him a smile meant just for him, "You good Pete?" he whispered away from the microphone.

Peter nodded, "Yeah, all good Mr. Stark, just really surprised."

"What? You think I'd let you down? You know I can't pass up a chance to stand on a stage and show off." He teased.

"You'd never let me down Mr. Stark." Peter said, sounding so genuine it made Tony want to cry.

His mentor coughed, "Peter my heart condition." He wheezed and Peter laughed softly patting him on the back.

"You're alright."

Straightening, Tony turned back to the crowd, "So as a treat for you all, I'm going to do a demonstration about the newest and greatest Iron Man suit made completely out of nanotech."

Peter helped him run through his products, listing all the characteristics and relevant fun facts about each one and at Tony's insistence, where he helped out. When they were done, their time coming to an end, Tony gave a gaudy bow, throwing his sunglasses into the crowd where a trio fought over who had been the one to catch it. "That's all for today folks! Be sure to grab an application form from the SI booth where Thor's probably just flexing his biceps or being equally useless and good-looking." He flashed one more peace sign before gently curling his fingers around Peter's arm and leading him off stage.

"Is Mr. Thor really at the booth?"

Tony shrugged, jutting out his lip, "He came to support Brucie and I told him he'd probably be back at the booth so it's just an assumption honestly. But," he paused, posing, "let's face it, how often am I wrong?"

Peter rolled his eyes, "Jeez Mr. Stark at least pretend to be like the rest of us."

Tony laughed and looked like he wanted to say more before he had a chest full of spiderkid. Peter burrowed against his mentor, wrapping his arms around him as tight as they would go. "Thank you Mr. Stark." He mumbled against his collar, "I was so happy when I saw May being up there with Dr. Banner and thanks for coming too, I know you're busy with bringing back the others and work and everything."

"Busy? Kid, I'm never too busy for you. You're one of the few things in my life that isn't a hassle." Tony said gruffly, fingers combing through his hair.

Peter knew he would say that. It's what he always said. And hearing it over and over never made Peter stop loving it less but he didn't thank Tony just to hear his reply. For a long time after he saw that video, the video that had Captain America's eyes flashing in his dreams when he smashed his shield into Tony's chest, he wondered about all the thank you's Tony never got. A part of him wondered if he felt like he had to constantly give things to receive love in return. That if he didn't buy Peter the world, Peter would leave. He wondered if after he had given the Rogue Avengers his home and his resources and his love and they all still left anyway that it left a hole in his heart like a well that screamed validation for his thoughts of worthlessness that had once been silenced.

Peter said thank you so that Tony Stark would hear it. And then believe it.

Peter said thank you because he was trying to say I love you.

He hoped Tony heard that too.

"Still." Peter says, "Still. You're the best."

"You too kid."

* * *

 _Winter_

Application season was probably the worst thing ever invented. Scratch that, it _was_ the worst thing ever. Peter threw his head back, sprawling his body across his chair and groaning for all he was worth. This was the _worst_. How many essays could he possibly write about why he wanted to be a biomedical engineer and what inspired him. How many more letters of interest could he write or emails requesting _another_ academic reference. It was just- too much! Not to mention the internal debate in his head between asking Tony for an employer's reference, but he didn't want to look like he was name dropping.

Grinding his teeth, Peter straightened, his eyes glancing over to where his phone sat innocently. Looking away and then staring at it a bit more, Peter gave in and unlocked it, calling Tony like it was second nature. He could hear the remnants of AC/DC fading off into the background, guess Tony was working then, as Tony did his usual, "Hey kid." bit.

"Hey Mr. Stark." Peter said. With extra despair.

He could almost hear the frown, "What's got you down Underoos?"

And just like that, all of his frustrations came rushing out. "It's just these stupid applications! Why is it so hard just to go to school? I'm trying to get a degree not become the president, sheesh! And there are so many different criteria and it's so time consuming and how are we supposed to be getting good grades if half our time is spent doing this and it's just! It's just really frustrating Mr. Stark." Peter finished in a rush, slightly out of breath and feeling better at having let it all out.

Tony hummed in sympathy, "I know kiddo, it's really a process, but it'll be worth it once all those acceptances come pouring in. And I know it's hard now but you can do it, I know you can." And Tony sounded so sure it killed his doubt before it could even grow.

The real root of his anxieties come out of his mouth before he can stuff them back in. "What if I don't get in?"

Tony sounded like he was choking, "Not get in? Peter are you crazy? You're the smartest kid I know, you're definitely smarter than most other kids and you work hard and do a bunch of extra-curriculars, not to mention you invented a revolutionary medical technology, how could you _not_ get in?"

And normally all that praise would have given Peter a heat stroke and he'd be jumping up and down right about now, but his insecurities ate at him and Peter felt that usual crawling inside his belly like his body was full of snakes. "MIT is the best school for my program in the country, even with all that I'm barely even competitive." He mumbled.

"Peter," Tony sighed, "I don't know where you're getting all this self-deprecating nonsense, but it's just that, nonsense. I don't know how much more competitive you could be unless you went public as Spiderman and at that point it'd just be overkill. Plus, there are other schools too, not that you won't get in, but Stanford and Berkeley are great too."

"But I want to go to MIT like you!"

Tony went silent, the only sign of him not having hung up was his sharp intake of breath. Peter wanted to die. This was so embarrassing he probably just embarrassed him, oh my god- "Peter." And Tony sounded way too emotional so now _Peter_ was getting emotional _oh my god_ , "Peter, I'm flattered you want to follow in your old man's footsteps, honoured even, but you know…" he paused, like he was gathering his thoughts or something harder, like courage, "you know I'd still be proud of you no matter where you went right?"

And Peter was too overwhelmed to speak, his fingers gripping the phone tightly against his ear so Tony plundered through like he had to fill the gaps. "You're smart and talented and full of so much potential, any university, including MIT, would be crazy not to see it. You're going to get in everywhere you apply Pete and no matter where you choose I'm going to still think it was the best choice."

In a small voice, "You really think so?"

"I know so kiddo."

Peter smiled softly, "Thanks Mr. Stark. I really needed to hear that. You're the best."

"Don't thank me, I'm just stating facts like Vision does when you accidentally ask him a googleable question."

Peter laughed, "Yeah he's kind of super boring sometimes." He clapped a hand over his mouth, "Don't tell him I said that!"

Later, in the comfort of his own bedroom, Peter suddenly realized Tony had inadvertently implied he was his dad and promptly self-combusted.

Between working on EmerSpray, doing actual intern things, Spidermanning, being a student, and hanging out with Ned and May and Tony, Peter was spread pretty thin. And that was just a euphemism for this freaking close to burning out like a candle on a toddler's birthday cake. So when Peter arrived at the lab for his usual 5-8 shift, he wasn't that surprised that Tony only needed to take one look at him before turning him right around to the common room.

"Why do you look like a zombie?" Tony accused, fussing over him, trying to puff up the pillows he was placing behind Peter's head and smooth down Peter's cowlick.

"M'not a zombie." Peter mumbled back.

"Uh huh, okay, sure sure, tell that to the massive bags underneath your eyes." Tony snarked, throwing a blanket over him.

"You're evidently not sleeping enough. So go on, take a nap spiderbaby, the lab will still be here when you wake up."

"Noooo, we were gonna work on the Hulkbusterrrr." Peter whined, trying to sit up before being pushed back down.

"FRI, lights please. And you," Tony turned to Peter, "no arguing. Working in the lab when you're this tired is a safety hazard."

"Says you." Peter shot back before getting his nose pinched.

"Hush you. No talking back to your elders. Just…just rest a little okay. It's okay to just rest." Tony said, quieter.

Peter didn't say anything, looking at his mentor from lidded eyes instead. He really was tired…and if Tony wasn't gonna be mad then maybe it wasn't a big deal…As if sensing his oncoming submission, Tony sat down next to his head, running his hand through his hair, "That's it, go off into Lego dreamland."

Peter wanted to say something sarcastic back, but Tony's hand through his curls was warm and even and his eyes felt droopier by the second. Maybe it was okay to have a quick nap. Just twenty minutes…

Peter woke up to Tony still beside him, arm resting near his head. He must have moved though, because there was a tray of food and some water and juice on the coffee table across from them still under wraps to keep it warm. "Hey kid, do you still say morning if it's the middle of the night?" Tony mused, fixing him with a fond smile.

Peter blinked, rubbing at his eyes and flipping onto his stomach to better look at his mentor. "What tim'izzit?" he yawned and Tony pinched his cheek affectionately.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like a goddamn deer when you wake up?"

Peter pouted pushing away his hand half-heartedly. "Don't be mean Msser Stark."

"Can you call making you a five course meal mean? Also don't worry about the time, I already texted May, she's cool."

Peter sat up slowly, stretching his arms out behind him. "You made me dinner?"

"Don't sound so surprised, I do know the basics of cooking. And it's healthy too. I'm the full package." Tony waggled his brows and Peter's laugh burst out like waterfalls. "Eat up kid, there's more if you want."

Peter pulled the tray into his lap, gesturing for Tony to dig in. "Nah, I'm good. Ate while you were sleeping."

Peter tried to enjoy the meal, doing his best not to just scarf it all down like a savage. It was actually pretty good, at the very least he could taste the effort and the image of Tony trying to follow a recipe to cook him dinner left him warm like the lemon chicken in his plate. "This is pretty good Mr. Stark, I'm proud of you." He teased.

"I'm a man of many talents." He responded shamelessly before turning serious. "Kid, you need to take better care of yourself. With your heightened metabolism, you need to be eating way more and sleeping more too. I know you're responsible, so what's got you so distracted?"

And his tone was so gentle. Not accusing or frustrated, just quietly patient, and Peter felt a lot of gratefulness then. A lot of love. His hands stilled over the plate, head slightly bowed. "It's nothing Mr. Stark, you don't need to worry about it." Tony made a disagreeing rumble in his throat, "I mean, I know I haven't been really energetic lately but it's just because I'm trying to balance so many things and it's getting a little hard now because finals are coming up and there's the paper Bruce and I are trying to write and Spiderman and home and here and sometimes it just," he waved his hands in the air, face twisted in frustration, "it just gets all tangled up. It's just…really hard to be everywhere at once, you know?" he looked up, eyes wide and searching.

Tony let out a breath, his hand moving to rest on Peter's head again. "Kid, if you were feeling this stressed out about your life why didn't say something?"

Peter shrugged, looking miserable. "It's stupid. You're Iron Man." He mumbled, fiddling with his hands. "You're the best superhero and you're the innovator behind one of the biggest companies in the world and you're doing all the Avengers stuff and the UN stuff to get the Rogues back and you still have time to listen to me complain about dumb stuff."

Tony sighed, "Peter, this may sound crazy to you, but I don't do any of those things alone. It's all about teamwork and lucky for you, you have the best team." Tony stood up, clapping his hands, "Until the break we're putting the internship and the spray on hold."

"Mr. Stark! That's not what I meant! I can handle it!" Peter shot up hating himself for saying anything at all.

He was weak and now Tony knew it.

"Peter, this isn't a punishment. I _know_ you can handle it, you've _been_ handling it. But those things used to make you happy and now you're in a place where they're just stressful. I want you to really take advantage of the process not see it as a chore." Tony's face softened, "If you really want to, then I'm not going to stop you. But you need to take it easy Peter. Life isn't a race. No one's going to send you to the guillotine if you don't accomplish every single one of your life goals before you turn eighteen."

Peter looked to the floor, feeling oddly called out. "You're a great kid Peter. Smart, dedicated, perseverant. You have the brightest future ahead of you and it isn't going to go away just because you took a short break."

Tony stopped, looking mortified. "Oh my God. This is what Pepper must have felt like all those years. Oh my God I need to take her to Paris, this is the worst."

Peter laughed and looked almost surprised that he did.

"Pepper's been trying to get me to take care of myself for years and it's only when I started doing that that I began to actually like life again. Don't make the same mistakes I did kid. You're better than that."

Peter knew Tony had a point. It was only for a month and a bit honestly and neither of those things were urgent no matter how passionate he was about them. And he really could use the sleep and the study time. It was just…

"Does that mean I can't come to the tower until exams are over?" he asked quietly.

Tony, for his part, looked scandalized, "Excuse me? You said I wasn't allowed to finish The Good Place without you. You have to come over."

Peter grinned, feeling relieved and a little dumb. He thought he was past his whole relationship insecurity thing. "Maybe I'll try taking a break…just to see how it goes. But no promises!"

"I can live with that. Now come on, Rhodey said he was coming over and I have a great idea for a prank to get him back for that toaster thing."

A month and five days later, Peter arrived at his apartment, elated and tired and relieved at having written his last final to see Tony's familiar car parked on the road. Confused, but smiling anyway, Peter unlocked the door with a thrum of anticipation in his toes to see Tony and May both standing in front of him looking giddy of all things. "Peter!" May practically yelled, "Congratulations on finishing! I'm so proud of you!" she pulled him in for a hug and still confused, but mostly fond, Peter hugged her back.

"Well kid, you did it. Always knew you could." His words may have been lacking but the pride in Tony's eyes was unmistakable and Peter beamed.

"Thanks Mr. Stark. But you didn't just come here to tell me that did you?"

"What? A mentor can't come visit his mentee once in a while? How dare you doubt my intentions." He complained, miffed.

May rolled her eyes, but her smile softened the blow, "Peter, we have a surprise for you. We know how hard you've been working this semester and all the work you've put in for EmerSpray and your internship and Spiderman and school, not to mention your university applications, so we decided that you deserved something really special this Christmas."

Peter blinked, looking between them and their still plastered on smiles like they were on a red carpet. "Something special?"

Tony's grin turned into a smirk as he whipped out three thick tickets, "Kid, we're going to Disneyland."

Peter's jaw dropped, "What? No way. Oh my God, May, Tony, that's- that's too much. I don't even-"

"This is exactly what you deserve Peter, I don't want to hear another word of this too much nonsense, capiche?" Tony declared, May nodding beside him.

"You're okay with this?" Peter asked, turning to his aunt.

"Well you know I haven't used a day of my vacations since…well for a while. So it turns out I've collected quite a few." May laughed, soft and only just tinged with mourning. "I think this will be good for us."

Peter stared at her and then opened his mouth again, looking all shades of concerned before Tony cut him off before he could even begin. "Peter, let me do this for you." He sniffed, looking all sorts of uncomfortable, "You know I don't like the whole heart to heart thing, gives me hives, but you and May," he shook his head smiling slightly, "you two deserve this and I can make it happen and it's a token of appreciation more than anything." He looked like he wanted to say more but just couldn't form the rest of the words.

"You're coming right Mr. Stark?"

"Of course he is." May said, "This is a family vacation."

Peter loved aunt May. Loved her more than absolutely everything and loved her even more than that in that exact moment. Tony froze, something like a flood in his eyes that he hid with a cough and a quick quip of, "Great, there goes my allergies." As he tried to hide how touched he was by the sentiment.

The excitement started to bubble inside Peter as he bounced on his toes, "Okay, holy crap. We're going to Disneyland. That's crazy. I can't believe it. Thank you guys so much this is literally the best gift ever I can't."

Finally back in his comfort zone, Tony grinned. "That's more like it. Pack up Underoos we're heading out in two days."

"Two days?! I have to tell Ned! And do laundry! Oh my God May we need to bring out our summer clothes again. We just packed those!"

May laughed, throwing her head back. "Peter you're honestly too adorable for your own good."

"Hey! I'm not adorable! I'm seventeen!"

"I love it when babies say seventeen like it means something." Tony teased, snickering at Peter's pouty glare.

The three of them moved on to talking about logistics and what to do and what to wear until the clock inched its way until it was late enough that May started to yawn and Tony stood up to take his leave. "Happy'll pick you two up at ten okay?"

"Sure thing Mr. Stark! I'll make sure May packs the day before too. She's horrible in the morning."

"Watch it Peter, or I'll leave you behind and take a nicer nephew."

"I'm your only nephew."

May waved a hand in the air, "Details."

Needless to say, a week and a half later, the Parkers tumbled into their apartment just a little jetlagged and overloaded with souvenirs that hindered their balance. Carefully, Peter put up his new Star Wars trio figurine, a mouse ears headband Tony had bought to tease him and an Iron Man gauntlet replica right next to his bed. The little circle on the palm glowed a comforting blue when the lights went out and Peter thought that nothing could be more reassuring than that.

* * *

The stress of waiting for college admissions to roll around drives Peter towards finally picking up a hobby he'd been meaning to explore more as a distraction. Tony always said that the best way to calm an overly energetic mind was to direct the energy into something more useful than just worrying. So, Peter dug out one of the old cameras May and Ben had used years ago, the digital kind that had fewer pixels than the average smartphone, and started snapping pics. Mostly, he liked high rise photos. Everyone was so used to looking upwards, but Peter felt so much more grounded looking down. There weren't infinite possibilities, just roads he knew from childhood and the constant thrum of people and lights. Plus, being sticky meant he got to take pictures from angles no one else could, and if that wasn't a boost to the ego than he didn't know what was.

Of course, Peter loved taking photos of people too. Candids of May spinning pasta on the stove, snapshots of Ned, his head thrown back with laughter, MJ with a soft expression in her eyes as she read a particularly good passage from a book. He loved capturing the little moments that made up a relationship and going over to the tower left Tony as no exception. And there was no way Peter wasn't going to take a photo that day. One of his absolute favourite Tonys was the Tony who always, without fail, looked up from his work in the lab, his whole body leaning towards the door like he was genuinely excited for Peter's arrival, a warm crinkle around his eyes, his lips in a genuine smile as he'd call out, "Hey Pete."

It was an open Tony, one who was unguarded with no facades and nothing to dance around. One that was comforting and strong and gave Peter strength and support. It reminded him of the feeling he'd get when he'd come home from school and Ben would be there to greet him or how May looked when he'd come back home from camp and she'd be waiting in her friend's car to pick him up, waving through the window. It was the feeling of coming home and feeling like you belonged and feeling so secure in every aspect and it made Peter happier than he could ever convey that Tony felt the same way. So of course, Peter dashed into the lab with his camera already up and as usual, Tony turned around in his seat, his usual greeting at his lips before the flash of the camera went off and he just turned confused.

"Peter, did the paparazzi finally break you? Are you trying to make some extra cash on the side? Because you know I'm more than happy to increase your stipend."

Peter made a face, "Mr. Stark, I'd never sell photos of you for money, I'm offended."

Tony shrugged, "I've seen people do more for less."

"Yeah, well I'm not most people." Peter stuck out his tongue but Tony dropped the banter, looking at him fondly, almost sadly, instead.

"That's right you're not."

But breaking the moment as quickly as he made it, Tony gestured to the camera, "So, spill the beans, what's the camera for?"

Peter rubbed the back of his neck, looking almost bashful. "Well, uh. Remember how you said I should try to do a hobby to uh, make me less anxious?"

"Go on." Tony settled into his seat, leaning his head into his palm, giving Peter his full attention.

Feeling just slightly too scrutinized, Peter ducked his head, "Weeeellll, I thought I'd try my hand at photography. And it's…it's pretty fun to be honest."

"Yeah?" Tony didn't sound skeptical, just curious, making grabby hands in Peter's direction, "Lemme see."

"Mr. Stark! They're private!" Peter scurried back, clutching the camera to his chest.

"What do you mean private? I'm in one! Come on, I'm your dear old mentor, shouldn't I be mentoring you in the art of photography?"

"Did you suddenly get a PhD in photography too?" Peter quipped dryly.

Tony smirked, "Why? Do you want me to?"

"Mr. Stark!" Peter whined, even as he moved closer to the man to sulkily hand out his camera.

Tony grinned victoriously, flipping through the photos on the little display, his lips pinched. Peter leaned nearer, caught between looking at his own photos and Tony's reaction and was feeling increasingly stressed that he couldn't! Get! A! single! Read! On! His! Mentor! What was he? Some kind of poker master?

Finally, Tony had gone through nearly all of them and with his normal dramatic flair, swivelled around to present the camera back to him and announced, "You're good kid. Really good. I love them."

Peter felt his heart explode. "Wait- you love them? Like, for real?"

"No, for fake." Tony rolled his eyes, "Peter, these are really cool. You should open one of those photograph Instagram things, like the ones you always show me."

"Oh my God, no way that's so embarrassing. What if I don't get any followers? Plus, what if I'm not good enough?"

Tony laughed, "Kid, you're going to get followers. People follow everything. And you're actually good!"

Peter ran a hand through his hair still looking shy, "Do you actually think so? Because if I got a better camera, these would definitely turn out better."

"Well yeah, the camera quality could use an upgrade, but your actual talent is pretty promising. Do a bit of editing, some cropping, other fancy photo things I don't know yet, and voila. MoMA worthy." Tony flashed him some jazz hands and Peter couldn't help but snort.

"If you say so Mr. Stark…"

"I do say so. And I'm usually right."

"Actually, Ms. Potts says you're usually wrong. About like, almost everything."

Tony winced, "Okay well maybe in my own life I'm a little, let's say…" he waved his hand in the air, "all over the place. But when it comes to you, trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I'm working real hard on it. Ultimate good interest in mind and all that."

It came out of Peter all of the sudden really. He had been thinking it obviously. Thinking it for a really long time. But he never really said it often, but this time, he thought Tony needed to hear it. Especially when it wasn't in a context of near death experiences or saving him from school humiliation or something else dramatic and big and public. This was just a kid and his mentor and a camera. "You're a really good mentor Mr. Stark. The best actually. You don't even have to try hard, you're great just the way you are." He blurted, looking him right in the eye, sincere and also a little horrified.

Tony's eyes widened almost imperceptibly before he coughed, pushing up from off his perch and clapping Peter on the shoulder, "Thanks kid. That means a lot. Now do you want some juice? I think I want some juice."

Peter shook his head, smiling almost exasperatedly. "Yeah Mr. Stark, some juice sounds great."

"Okay, to the kitchen then and then back here for some tinkering."

The next morning, as Peter was rushing to make it to school, he threw open his apartment door, almost missing the cardboard box with his name printed in big block letter sitting on the mat. Jerking to a stop, Peter pulled out one of his earbuds for no real reason other than the drama of it all, bending down to rip open the box. In hindsight, he probably should've been more careful of weirdly addressed packages arriving at his doorstep, but you know, curiosity killed the cat.

And hot damn, did satisfaction bring it back. Peter pulled out the clearly custom made camera from it's safe container like it was a holy grail, tracing over the engraved 'Peter Parker' in the side, feeling his finger shake. This was…this was amazing. Too amazing. Like, he couldn't possibly believe it amazing. Peter crouched down, rifling through the box to find different lenses and accessories and at the very bottom of the box, a small handwritten note. Plucking it out with barely contained excitement, Peter couldn't help the smile that got bigger with every line he read.

 _Hey kid,_

 _Welcome to your new camera with better pixels than one that could've been an iPod's grandma. I know you have a whole thing about buying you things- which is ridiculous by the way- so I spent last night building this for you. Hopefully, it should survive your clumsier tendencies, even if you're using it as you-know-who._

 _Have fun with it kid, send me some of your stuff so I can pin it on the fridge suburban wine mom style_

Tony signed off with a crudely drawn peace sign and a quick T.S and Peter wouldn't have had it any other way. Running back inside, he shouted for May and snapped a picture of her startled face giggling all the while. "Peter!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

Quickly, Peter pressed on the gallery button and marveled at the quality of the photo. He could even see that one grey hair May had that she refused to admit existed. "Holyyy sh-"

"You better not finish that sentence young man. And what's that?" her curiosity taming her innate need to yell, May peered over Peter's shoulder, knowing immediately what it was by the engraving.

She sighed, a fond smile at her lips, "That man never knows when to quit huh?"

"He's the best." Peter agreed, "May, quick, be my model, I want to see what all the settings do."

May laughed, "I'm flattered Petey, but you need to go to school and I need to get to work so let's put the photography on hold okay?"

Peter sulked, begrudgingly putting his camera on the table like it was made of glass. "That's no fun at all."

May shrugged, "But it's life."

Later, as Peter was walking from the subway to school, he pressed 3 for Tony's number (it had been on his speed-dial since the second he got it but no one needed to know that) and listened for the usual two rings before, "Hey Pete, aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

"Why does everyone think I'm a delinquent who never goes to class?" he complained.

Tony's tone was dry, "Because you're a delinquent who tends to not go to class?"

Peter groaned, "You ditch _one_ day and suddenly everyone thinks you're this close to being a drop-out. That's stereotyping Mr. Stark and it's _unethical_."

"Pretty sure it's not and I better not see any Spidermanning until you're back home kid." But Peter could hear the smile in his words.

"Yeahhh, I got it Mr. Stark, no need to worry about me. I don't have time to get in trouble anymore anyway. I have something a little more interesting to take up my time."

Tony sounded like he was shuffling some papers around, but the amused lilt in his voice was unmistakable, "That right?"

"Yeah, I got a pretty cool gift today. Super awesome. Like, top ten gifts of all time."

"Even better than the suit?"

Peter snorted, "No way. Nothing could top the suit. But it comes pretty close."

There was a moment of silence between them, both on the brink of acknowledging feelings or choosing to move on with their usual banter. Peter decided to take the plunge. He wasn't a good swimmer for nothing. "When I come over, can you show me how you made some of the internal mechanics? It doesn't look like my other one at all and it's super cool. The wiring is so delicate and there's all sorts of parts I don't even know the names of."

"You're gonna love this stuff kid, in fact, it might even be helpful to your little robot dog project. The optics of it all anyway." Tony seemed relieved about the turn of the conversation and his excitement at Peter's excitement made his heart swell.

"Great! I almost want to deconstruct it but I love it too much."

"It hasn't even been two hours Peter." Tony deadpanned.

"I can't help it! I get attached easily! It's a curse!" Peter bemoaned, laughing at Tony's excessive sigh.

"No, your penchant for trouble is a curse. Now stay in school and be good kid. I'll see you at the usual time."

Mostly, Peter was glad there wasn't a question mark at the end of that statement anymore. Long gone were the days of hesitancies and maybes.

Peter's smile was soft. "Sure thing Mr. Stark. Can't wait."

Quickly, as though Peter didn't have super hearing and also an unquenchable need to be validated, Tony mumbled, "Me too kiddo." And then promptly hung up.

Snorting, Peter stared at his phone, the fading image of Tony cracking up over a meme Peter had shown him, making him shake his head before he stuffed it back into his pocket. Tony'd never change. But Peter never wanted him to.

It was at that moment that the beginnings of Peter's secret project began to form in his head. A lot of times he wondered about why Tony did the things he did. That if he gave and he gave because he thought it was the only reason people would ever stay. Behind the façade of confidence and bravado hid a plethora of insecurities that Peter only began to see once he started to know Tony the man and not Tony Stark the hero. And when he thought about all that, about how much Tony wanted, needed so desperately, to keep the people in his life he reduced himself to the resource guy just so people would have a reason to keep him around, Peter felt something like an ocean battering against his chest. When the Avengers left, they had fought against Tony with his own inventions. He had designed those suits and weapons to maximise lethality and effectiveness and protect its users the best he could. When the Avengers left, they had used a home Tony had built just for them, to keep them together, and they had torn it all apart. Tony had given everything he could and still was left with nothing and Peter couldn't think about it, couldn't deal with it. Because it wasn't fair. It just wasn't.

He'd read the leaked documents. When SHIELD got exposed, the internet blew up with news and theories and controversies and someone had made an entire database to filter searching through the thousands of documents easier. While everyone had been busy on the conspiracy tag, Peter had gone straight into searching everything he could about Iron Man. Everything that was on public record Peter had already seen before. News articles of his heroism and successful missions, clips of him defeating bad guys or stopping actual armed conflicts between militias and armies. And then he saw the SHIELD reports, the one by Natasha Romanov, the one about assessment for the Avengers and Peter remembered being dumbfounded and then incredulous.

" _Iron Man yes, Tony Stark not recommended."_

What?

Iron Man was just a suit, a suit Tony built because he was a hero who just needed an opportunity. Iron Man wouldn't be a superhero if Tony wasn't one himself. Peter remembered the tightness of his jaw as he scrolled through the file, trying to find one good reason why Tony, whose genius was unparalleled in the entire country, whose heart was never in the wrong place, whose thoughts were constantly preoccupied with others that he neglected himself and couldn't find anything convincing. Tony would be a hero to Peter even if he didn't have a suit. Saving the world wasn't just about stopping alien invasions or overzealous villains. Saving the world was about leaving the earth better than you found it for the people who come after you and nobody, not even SHIELD, could say that Tony didn't try his best to do that every single day.

The thing though, was that when everyone else thought those things about Tony, eventually, Tony must have thought all that about himself and Peter Parker was 100% no way in hell absolutely not going to let that slide. Not on his watch. No way.

But he needed to wait until June.

* * *

 _Spring_

Spring arrived and the entirety of Midtown was stressed. Every day, another letter came in the mail and students cried into each other's shoulders or ran to their friends shrieking. The gossip for the entire season was about who got in where and who was choosing what. Everyone worried about their future and hoped for the best and the constant anticipation was starting to wear down on everyone. Peter hadn't received any of his letters yet and, obviously, was slowly disintegrating from the anxiety of it all. Despite the reasoning from both May and Tony that it was fine and that it didn't mean anything, Peter couldn't help but always think of the worst and he had begun to try and accept the fact that he'd have to be working at some lame desk job filing papers for an asshole boss forever until he came home to see May with the biggest smile on her face and an even bigger envelope in her hand.

Peter saw the logo before she even had to say anything, "It came?!" he yelled, throwing his bag onto the couch and careening into his aunt.

"MIT finally got back to you, see I told you it'd just take time." May said with a smile.

She handed him the envelope and Peter held it with shaky hands. His entire future was inside this envelope. His fingers lifted to rip the seal but he stopped, looking at his aunt with wide eyes. "What if I didn't get in?" he asked, annoyed at himself for still thinking about it, but desperately wanting validation.

"Sweetie, you're never going to know until you open it." May said gently.

Pulling his lip into a determined line, Peter carefully opened it up, pulling out a slew of letters and pamphlets, but it was the first paper that demanded his attention. May looked at him intently, biting her lip and crossing her fingers. Peter read the first few lines and nearly fainted.

"M-May." He started.

"Did you get in!?"

Peter beamed.

"I GOT IN!"

"AHHH!"

May pounced on him, wrapping her arms around him as they jumped up and down yelling. "I got in! I got in! I got-" Peter stopped, pulling away from his aunt, "I gotta tell Mr. Stark! Oh my god I got in! May!"

May pressed a kiss against his temple, looking at him with all the adoration of a mother, "I'm so proud of you Peter, I knew you could do it."

Peter's smile bigger than it had ever been as he pulled out his phone, calling Tony. He picked up on the first ring and without even waiting for a hello, Peter started yelling, "MR. STARK I GOT INTO MIT! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?"

There was a two second pause before Tony erupted alongside his enthusiasm, "Believe it? Kid I've been telling you for forever you would, this is fantastic. You did great Peter. Really. You deserve this."

"I'm so excited you have no idea, oh my God I can't get over it."

Tony laughed, "Don't. You deserve to bask in the glory of your victories. In fact, if you two are free, let's go out tonight to celebrate."

"Really?" Peter rocked on the balls of his feet, already excited.

"Are you kidding? This is a huge milestone, this calls for pulling out all the stops."

"Mr. Stark it's fine, just celebrating with you guys is enough."

"Hush Spiderling, kids don't know how to party, but veterans like me? We've got it all figured out."

Peter snorted, "Sure Mr. Stark, whatever you say."

"Be ready at seven. And look nice!"

Needless to say, when the waiter at the restaurant asked what the occasion was and Tony raised his glass saying, "The kid got into MIT!" the waiter smiled and said, "You must be very proud."

And Tony looked right at Peter and smiled that smile that was reserved just for him and moments with no mask and said, "Prouder than I've ever been. He's gonna blow us all away."

* * *

Peter did his driving test in May. He had spent the better part of the year doing driving lessons with Tony and they eventually got to the point where he could drive and Tony was so comfortable he even did a bit of texting instead of being his usual over-reacting hypervigilant self. On the day of their last lesson, after Peter had efficiently parked the car back in its spot in the garage, Tony had turned to him in his seat and looked very grave. "Peter. I think you're ready." He said solemnly.

Catching on, Peter flattened his expression, "Are you sure Commander? Am I ready for solo missions?"

Tony quirked a lip, smacking Peter's leg, "That's the spirit. You're one hundred percent ready. I have total faith in you Peter. You've come a long way from accidentally swerving onto the highway screaming."

Peter winced, "Mr. Staaaaark," he whined, "that was one time, let it goooo."

"Never." Tony snickered, an evil glint in his eye.

"But seriously, you're going to be great. Just book your test and Happy will take you in this car so you can use it for the test."

Peter's eyes widened, "Mr. Stark that's too much, you don't have to."

"Don't be ridiculous. This is the only car you've ever driven, you don't want to get used to a whole new car the day of your test. It's stressful. Trust me, I've been there."

"If you say so…"

"Trust me kid, you're going to be just fine. Happy'll take you out for ice cream either way anyway." Tony grinned, pulling at Peter's cheek until he started to laugh, batting his hand away.

"Alright, alright. I'll book it at home, okay?"

Tony sat back in his seat, making an okay sign with his hand, "Perfect." He said, popping the 'p.'

So there Peter was, a couple weeks later, sitting in the car with a stranger in the passenger seat with his judgemental clipboard and his small judgier eyes and gulped. "H-hi, I'm Peter."

The man didn't seem to acknowledge what he said, "Start the car and when you feel it's safe, pull out of the parking lot."

"Okay." Peter said, shifting the gear and nervously checking the mirrors, "Sure, pulling out of the parking lot. Easy peasy. I totally got this."

The man seemed unimpressed with his rambling and Peter tried to keep his mouth shut. The examiner led him through the route he and Tony had already practiced before and though Peter couldn't stop himself from talking, he was pretty sure he was doing everything more or less well. When they looped back to the lot, he was asked to parallel park and reverse park and though he kind of butchered the reverse parking, he turned the car off pretty much in the spot and he fidgeted, looking at the examiner with wide, waiting eyes.

The man examined him before scribbling on his clipboard and handing him a slip. "You pass."

Peter blinked. "No way. Seriously? That's great! Thank you!"

"Go inside to get your picture taken and temporary license and then you're done."

"Yes, for sure, thank you sir, so much sir!"

Peter scrambled from the car, sprinting back into the building to see Happy on his phone sitting on one of those uncomfortable waiting chairs. "Happy! Happy!" Peter bounded up to him, smiling uncontrollably.

Happy caught sight of his green slip and stared, "You passed?"

"I passed!"

Happy looked almost, well, happy, before schooling his face back into its neutral expression. He coughed, "Good. Glad to hear it. The boss'll be happy."

Peter couldn't stop grinning the entirety of the trip back to the tower to return the car. For once, he was the one driving while Happy sat in the passenger seat, gripping the sides of the chair like Peter was still a novice. "Happy, you know I got my license right? That means I'm good at this whole driving thing."

"No, that just means you passed the minimal standardized test that even idiots pass." Happy retorted.

"Oh come on Happy, admit it, I'm pretty good." Peter boasted, grinning rakishly.

Happy rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, just keep your eyes on the road hotshot."

"Aw you're no fun Happy."

Eventually, the two pulled into the tower and Happy waved him off, "You go and see the Boss, I'll park the car."

Peter hesitated, his lip twisting, "You sure Happy? I don't mind."

Happy waved him off, "Yes I'm sure, now run along, you're giving me a headache."

Peter smiled, "Thanks Happy! You're the best!"

Happy coughed again, looking away, but he had the tiniest of smiles on his face.

Taking his advice, Peter bounded in the direction of the kitchen were FRIDAY alerted him Tony was currently drinking his third cup of coffee. "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark!" Peter yelled, throwing open the door brandishing his license like a trophy.

"Peter you passed! I knew you would!" Tony's joy poured out of him as he strode up to his protegee, examining the license like it was a treasure.

"Look at that, legal proof you're growing up." Tony mimed wiping a tear from his eye, "And I thought I'd never see the day."

"Oh my God Mr. Stark I wasn't that bad of a driver."

"You have not lived my lived experiences Peter Parker. I almost had a heart attack. Three times." He deadpanned.

"You're always almost having heart attacks." Peter snarked.

Tony's face twisted in offense, "Sarcasm is not a good look on you kid."

Peter made a face, "Well I learned from the best didn't I?"

Tony groaned, "Great. This was exactly I was afraid of. Couldn't you copy some of my better qualities?"

"Hey, I think your sarcasm is your _best_ quality. Certainly makes your press conferences interesting." Peter teased.

Tony rolled his eyes but smiled. "Yeah, tell that to Pepper."

"But seriously kid, you did good. I'm proud of you." Tony leaned over to ruffle Peter's hair and Peter couldn't help but relish in the affection so rarely given.

Peter had a lot he wanted to say, so many things to follow up that statement. But he couldn't find the courage to say it all just then and wanted to save it for his present anyway. It'd be better that way. He still wasn't sure on all the details yet, but he knew what he wanted Tony to feel when he saw it. He knew there was no way Tony could miss the point, not when the date he chose was so deliberate.

As Peter spent the rest day of his mentor, chatting over a quick bite, tinkering in the lab, getting into impassioned debates over the feasibility of time travel and finishing off with an episode (well three, but no one needed to know) of The Good Place, Peter hoped that even without the gift, Tony would know what he felt about him. That even if he hadn't been going out of his way to make tangible something only real in his feelings, that Tony would know anyway. He knew everything else after all.

* * *

 _Summer_

June comes around and Peter's plans are ruined when Tony calls him late at night when Peter's on the brink of sleep.

"Hey Peter." Tony says, almost like he's whispering.

Rubbing his eyes, Peter leans up in his bed, his phone light too bright for the night, "Misser Stark? Is everything ar'right?"

Tony takes a breath like he's hesitating before a forced cheer takes up his voice, "Yeah Pete, everything's good. Great actually. I'm sorry for calling you so late, it's just- I wanted to call to let you know I'll be a little unreachable for the next couple days. I know we had plans for the weekend but I don't think I'll be able to make it in time. I'm sorry kid."

Tony's trying hard to be nonchalant but Peter can hear the strain in every syllable he says and his heart clenches. "Mr. Stark?" he asks again, more alert, "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing interesting anyway." He amends, "Just some top secret government stuff. They're flying me out and cutting me off from all contact until it's all over, I just didn't want you to worry when you try to text me and don't hear back." His words come out smoother and Peter feels some of his worry start to ebb away.

"That sounds super lame Mr. Stark."

Tony laughs, tight but relieved, "Sure is kiddo. I'd rather be home with you." It comes out before Tony can think about it but he doesn't regret it.

Peter's expression falls into something soft and sleepy and he closes his eyes, snuggling with the phone. "Ya me too. It's okay Mr. Stark, we can reschedule for when you come back, it's no problem. Just come home soon."

"I'll do my best." Tony whispered.

Peter yawned and burrowed deeper into his pillow. "Thanks for telling me, I hope you have a good meeting Mr. Stark, see you soon. Good night."

"Night Pete," a pause, "you're one of the best thing that ever happened to me, I hope you know that."

The dial tone rung in his ear. Peter gaped in the silence, staring at his phone in shock. He knew Tony cared about him, loved him really, but he had never said it, never so much as hinted at it. Why did he say it now? What was really happening at that secret meeting? Worried now, something bad and malign and leeching coiling in his stomach, Peter called Tony back but the connection wouldn't make it through and Peter realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach, that Tony had already gone farther than he could reach.

Settling back down in his bed, Peter tried to play it cool, rationalizing that nothing bad could happen in a meeting and Tony always said more emotional things when his guard was down at night or when it was easier to say things because they weren't face to face. Talking himself down from panicking, Peter repeated over and over that Tony was Iron Man and Tony never lost to anyone so why would he start now. He'd be okay. He'd come back home.

He had to.

Tony had called the night of the twelve and not once since. Peter called him every day, just to see if the call would go through. There was no connection on the thirteen. Or the fourteen. Or the fifteen. The sixteenth came and Peter looked around at all the holiday's paraphernalia and at his own gift still sitting in the corner of his room all ready to go and felt a hole in his chest that felt emptier than it had been in a long time. Loss was no stranger in his heart, it lurked in its depths and taunted him in his sleep but Peter didn't know how much more he could take of it anymore. How much can you break a person before they shatter irreparably?

Peter didn't want to find out.

The sixteenth passed and he couldn't call Tony. The seventeenth passed just the same. The eighteenth, Tony came home. But he didn't. Not really. Does it count as coming home if they were bringing back your body?

He was pretty sure the news was supposed to be under wraps. But someone must have leaked it because as soon as it released it caused an uproar from security officials accusing the media of being a security risk and of revealing classified information. The footage of Tony, his Iron Man suit melded to his body, his face a mess of blood and bruises being hauled onto a stretcher into a medical helicopter was an image Peter would never forget. He looked gone. Empty. So awfully still for a man who always kept moving. His chest barely moving, his face completely slack, eyes closed, ignorant of the world. Peter had been in school when the story broke, when everyone began whispering as the news trended on their social media and every broadcasting station. Before he could blink, the footage was everywhere, screencaps trying to identify what happened all over the internet and theories blasting on his feed.

While everyone around him burst into chatter, Peter couldn't breathe. There was a buzzing in his ears, a trembling in his fingertips. For once, it wasn't sensory overload that got him but the overwhelming feeling that his thoughts were a tidal wave and he was being battered. They were so loud, they were so loud. His head wouldn't quiet Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark. His mentor's face flashed in his mind on a loop and Peter slapped his hands over his ears, hunching over his desk as he struggled to force air into lungs. Breathe, breathe, he needed to breathe. But Mr. Stark didn't look like he was breathing, oh God, what if he stopped breathing, then Peter really would just suffocate oh God, oh God, how could this have happened. How could-

"-Peter, Peter, hey you're going to be alright, hey man, you need to breathe." Ned locked eyes with him, full of concern.

"Ned." Peter whimpered and his best friend sprung into action.

"Mr. Styles, Peter isn't feeling well, I'm going to take him to the nurse's office."

Mr. Styles looked at the pair sympathetically. By now, everyone knew Peter actually did know Tony, and quite personally. He wouldn't begrudge a teenager for mourning. "Of course Ned."

Peter found himself in an empty classroom instead, hunched over his knees on the floor while he tried his hardest to calm down. "He'll be okay Peter. Don't even worry about it. He's Tony Stark, he's not that easy to take out."

"He's just a human. At the end of the day. He's not even enhanced. He's just a guy in a suit. Anything could happen." Peter cried, wondering where all his faith went when confronted with all consuming fear.

"Hey. That guy in a suit saved the world a hundred times. You think this one thing's gonna get him down?" Ned gripped his knee, "And you know what he's probably thinking about right now? To get him through all this? You probably. So where's your faith Peter?"

Peter's eyes watered and Ned moved his hand to grasp him by the shoulders and bring him in for a hug. "He needs to be okay Ned, he needs to. I don't know how- I don't know how he can't be. I don't care about Iron Man or CEO Stark, I just want Tony." He choked on a sob, "I just want Tony."

"He's going to be okay Peter." Ned repeated over and over until Ned's phone vibrated with his twitter notification for tracked hashtags and he pulled it out with shaky hands.

Eyes widening, Ned smacked at Peter's shoulder, "Dude, look! Look! I told you! Tony Stark's unkillable." Reading from the screen, "Tony Stark confirmed to be mortally injured but still alive. Currently in the Avengers Compound Medical Bay for treatment."

Peter stared, barely daring to hope, barely daring to breathe, though he had tried so desperately to before. "Med bay? He's in Med bay?" he whispered, his heart thumping in his chest.

"They'll definitely save him. They have Dr. Cho and Dr. Banner. Together, they're the best medicine has to offer." Ned said, trying to sound supportive despite his own shakiness.

Peter swallowed hard, trying to stand up, his legs shaking. "I gotta- I have to go. To the compound. I have to see him." His eyes were unfocused, his thoughts elsewhere.

He needed to leave. He needed to get out of here, he couldn't- he couldn't- how was he supposed to go back to English class knowing his mentor's life, the life of the man he thought of like his dad, the life of the man who he never even told that to yet, was on the line. "Peter how are you-"

But Ned was cut off by Peter's phone ringing and when he saw it was May, Peter nearly burst into tears right then and there. But hearing her voice did it and as soon as she said, "Peter, I saw what happened are you okay?" he couldn't stop himself as the tears that just dried streamed down his face again.

"Oh baby. Oh Peter." May sniffed, sounding close to crying herself, "Don't cry, it'll be okay. I'm coming to pick you up right now. I just knew you would try to go yourself and I don't want you trying to figure that all out on your own. Just stay at school until I come okay? It'll be okay I promise."

Peter could barely make it through his tears to say okay and with Ned at his side, he waited until May texted him to meet her outside.

Ned squeezed his hand on the way out. "Peter, he'll be okay. If you need me for anything, let me know."

"You're the best Ned. I mean it. You already helped me a lot today. Thank you." Wide eyed and sincere, Peter gripped his hand hard.

Ned blushed, ducking his head, "That's what best friends are for."

And despite all the fear and worry that swirled within him, Peter still felt that spark of love for the one guy he knew always had his back.

May jumped out of the car to collect him in a hug he felt right to his bones. Together, they drove in silence to the compound. There was nothing to say. All Peter could think about was the state Tony would be in when they arrived and all of May's comforting words had already been spent. Her promises could either come true or fail and no amount of talking about it would influence the outcome either way. Peter just wanted to arrive already. Wanted to hear Dr. Cho say he'd be making a full recovery and would wake up any second.

The reality was worse.

When Peter ran into Med Bay, May not far behind, he found the usual suspects; Rhodey, Pepper, Thor, and Happy, all waiting in the hall. Rhodey and Pepper hugged him when they saw him, Rhodey gripping his shoulder for an extra minute when he noticed his red eyes and puffy cheeks. "Hey kid, why the long face. Don't you know idiots are too stupid to die?"

His attempt at a joke only elicited a half-hearted smile and Peter felt himself shrink beneath his worry. "Did they say anything yet?"

Rhodey sighed, shaking his head. "We've been waiting ever since we got here. Cho and Banner and the team are still in there operating."

Peter felt his legs tremble and it was only May's solid presence behind him that steadied him. "How did this even happen? He was supposed to be at a meeting." Peter whispered, looking lost and desperate for answers.

Rhodey's eyes narrowed before something overwhelmingly pitying shadowed his face. "Peter…there was never a meeting. Tony was on a mission, something only he could do, or so the government said anyway. But it turned out it was a set-up and Tony…" Rhodey looked away, couldn't bear to see the heartbreak on the kid's face, "Tony wasn't ready."

Peter stepped back, lip wobbling. "W-why would he lie to me like that? Why would he-?"

"I'm sorry kid. But if you would have known the truth you would have just worried and Tony didn't want that. I don't know exactly, but I'm sure that's what it was. He never wants to burden you with anything he thinks he can handle himself. He's like that with most of his relationships." He sighed, rubbing his forehead with his fingers the way only an exhausted man with a heavy heart could.

"Still! Still I- I wanted to know! I…" angry tears spill over his eyes and Peter was frustrated that he was still crying and mad that Tony never trusted him but mad at himself for being mad because he would've done the same given Tony's place and he was mostly just mad at the world for letting this happen and just desperate for something good to happen.

Rhodey pulled his lips, "I know Peter. I know."

Together, they waited four hours and twenty six minutes, Peter knew, he'd been watching the clock, the constant ticking the only thing keeping him sane, until Bruce walked out looking drained and aching. "Is he okay?" Pepper lurched upwards, looking two steps away from shaking him.

Bruce opened his mouth, looking to Thor like he needed support before squeezing his eyes shut and opening them again. "It's…not good. But it's not bad either."

Peter's heart hammered in his ears.

"He's in a coma right now. And we're not sure when he'll wake up. But his other injuries are on their way to healing and with the right medications and rest regimes, he should recover almost good as new."

Peter felt his breathing slow. "A coma?" he asked, like he had never felt the word on his tongue before.

The medical jargon and everyone's frantic concern faded as the world drowned out of Peter's perceptions. He felt like he was in a bubble with static everywhere and all he could hear was his heartbeat hammering in his head and the constant loop of _you should've told him you should've told him how you felt you should've asked him to stay he was waiting for you to ask him to stay why didn't you ask him why didn't you tell him? Why didn't you do more? Why didn't you do more?_

Peter pressed a hand to his mouth, trying to suppress his cries, his shoulders shaking though he begged them not to. May was at his side in an instant, pulling him into her side, running her fingers through his hair. But all that did was remind him of the time he had been crying after the panic attack during the bank robbery and Tony had sat next to him doing the same thing and the tears came down harder. How could this have happened? Hadn't he suffered enough? Hadn't Tony been through enough?

Peter's heart couldn't take more of this.

It couldn't.

It couldn't.

Caught up in his bubble, Peter missed the entirety of the conversation between all the adults in the room. All of them wanted to stay, but all of them had important things to attend to. Pepper had to host a press conference now that the information leaked, Rhodey was being harassed by his commanding officer to return to work, May was being paged, Bruce desperately needed to rest while Helen kept watch until it was time to switch shifts, and Thor was tasked with forcing him. None of them wanted to go, but Peter stood up, wiping his eyes. "I'll stay with him, in case…in case he wakes up now. He wouldn't want us to abandon everything we have to do. We can take turns, you know…sitting with him." He rubbed at his face, feeling like if he looked any of them in the eye he would collapse in a pile of emotions again.

Pepper's expression softened, reaching over to squeeze his arm. "That's a great point Peter. I'm sure Tony would be happy to know you were here right now."

Peter tried to muster up a smile for her, but didn't know if it worked out at all. May hugged him again, promising to come back as soon as her shift was over, everyone else promising the same. Eventually, everyone dispersed and Peter was left staring at the door to Tony's room feeling like there was a stifling weight atop him. He had been inside MedBay a million times, mostly for his own injuries and scuffles, but he had never been inside for something like this, something so momentous as Tony maybe never waking up. His hand shook as it reached the doorknob and with one solid push, he walked through like he was expecting someone to jump out at him.

Tony lay in the gurney, IV's draped over metal stands and pricked into his wrists, his chest rising and falling, constant like the rain. Peter's legs stopped working. His hands tightened into fists and his breath hitched as he struggled to reconcile the vibrancy of his mentor and the terrifying stillness. With something achingly sad in his heart, Peter couldn't even find comfort in his face. He didn't look peaceful, or serene or any of that stupid bullshit they had in the fucking movies. He looked flat. Without expression. His features all straightened in lines that conveyed nothing but emptiness and a lack of presence.

Like every step was him fighting against a battle tide, Peter scraped over a chair next to the bed, grasping for Tony's hand without any hesitation. Shoulders heaving, Peter fell onto the chair, his body collapsed onto Tony's stomach. Breath coming in little gasps, Peter pressed Tony's hand to his face and closed his eyes. He was silent for a long time, just listening to Tony's breathing, every breath a miracle. A sign that he was alive.

His words came out like a waterfall bursting afresh. "I'm so thankful you're alive." Peter squeezed his hand, pressing it so hard against his face like he hoped it would fuse against him, "I've never been more thankful for anything like that before. Not once. When I saw the footage I-I couldn't think straight. I don't even know what happened. I can't even remember. I was so messed up about it, I'm _still_ so messed up about it. I thought you were dead." He whispered, a scratchy horror in his voice.

"I thought you were dead and all I could think about…" he took a staggered breath, miserable and wet, "you died," his voice cracked, "and I wanted to die too. I wanted to- but, but obviously that's…that's so stupid, but I felt a piece of me die, and I can't- I _can't_ Mr. Stark. I can't because- because, after my parents and Ben, how much more of me can die with the people I love until there's nothing left? How much more can I lose?" and though he told himself he wouldn't, Peter crumbled, his tears dripping down Tony's wrist.

"I thought you were gone and I couldn't bear it, I couldn't deal with it. How could I? You're my hero and my mentor and- and I wanted to say it to you, I wanted to tell you, before, on Father's Day, I had this whole thing planned. I think you would've loved it. I had this whole plan and this gift and I wanted to tell you that I- that I never thought I'd have another father figure in my life but then you came in and I-" Peter sniffed, wiping his eyes profusely, "I wanted to tell you that I love you and that I want to make you proud but now I might be too late and I don't know how to deal with that."

"I don't know how to do this without you Mr. Stark." His mouth twirled in a fake smile, his eyes red and puffy, "Please don't make me do this without you. Please. Please."

"I was so grateful when they told me you were alive. And I swear I'll never ask for anything ever again just please wake up. I won't break my curfew or deal with things out of my league or eat all your fries even when you tell me to just buy my own and I promise I'll be more careful and I'll tell you all the time that I appreciate you and that I never wanted anything more from you than your company and I don't care about the cameras or the cars or the suits or anything, I don't care, I just want you back. I just want you to be awake and be you, that's all I ever wanted."

"Please." He whispered.

Peter squeezed his hand, "Please."

A couple hours later, maybe less, maybe more, Peter didn't know, Pepper texted him telling him she was on her way. Now slightly less upset, still worried and fretful and anxious, but he had stopped crying, which was good, Peter tapped Tony on the chest. "Miss. Potts is coming soon and even though I don't want to leave you, I think she'd probably like the privacy. I should probably shower too…anxiety sweat you know?" he tried to laugh but it came off sharp.

"I'll be back soon! As soon as I can be! I want to be here when you wake up because of course you're going to wake up soon. You're just waiting a little for the drama right? You always liked a good entrance."

His dialed up hearing picked up the unmistakable clacking of Pepper's heels on the floor and Peter knelt down, cradling Tony's head against him as gently as he could. "Just please don't wait too long okay? There's fashionably late and then plain rude."

Peter held on for a few more seconds before pulling away to greet Pepper at the door. "Did the press conference go well?"

Pepper sighed, for a split second looking less than perfect, "As good as expected. There are a whole bunch of conspiracies going on right now, but hopefully we put an end to them. How's Tony?" she asked, looking at him with concern.

"No change." Peter wrapped his arms around himself, looking away.

"He'll wake up soon. He always gets back up. Don't worry." Pepper smiled, looking warm like a sunrise and Peter nodded.

"I know. You're right Miss. Potts. I'll…I'll leave you to it. Let me know when you need a shift change. I'm just going to be in my room okay?"

Pepper smiled fondly, "Sure thing Peter. Go get some rest, it's been a long day."

On his way to his bedroom, Peter paused, looking back at the closed MedBay door and felt an unmistakable sickness at leaving. What if something happened? What if someone broke in and tried to finish the job? What if he woke up? What if he flat-lined? What if what if what if? "FRIDAY." He called, trying to rationalize and bring down the bubbling anxiety, "Please alert me if anything changes in Mr. Stark's condition or if there's anything suspicious happening around there."

"Of course Peter."

"Thanks FRI."

He walked through the kitchen and common room to get to his room only to stop, frozen in his spot as he took in the changed décor of the room. Gone were the giant abstract paintings lining the common room's wall above the couches, three blown up photographs in sleek black frames were hung in their places instead and Peter knew them intimately. Those were his photos. His favourite ones.

Since using the Stark Camera, which was now being sold in retailers across the globe, Peter had gotten used to sending Tony some of his favourites as a kind of progress report and a subtle request for praise. Tony never failed to deliver, always telling him what he liked about his perspective and how unique his photos were. The three Tony had chosen were pulled directly from the ones Peter had sent him, ones he had never posted on social media. He must have installed them after their last lab meetup, after Tony had told him he was talented and going far. Always a man of action, Tony put his money where his mouth was, showcasing Peter's work on the wall like some kind of dialed up fridge art work. Emotion welled in Peter's throat and he all but ran to his bedroom, throwing himself on his bed and trying not to cry.

Tony never had to say I love you. He said that in everything he did. From constantly upgrading his suit to be safer, to picking up on his interests and fostering his talents, to listening to him ranting about everything that went wrong in his day, and what had Peter done? He had never even said the words. Never told him anything at all.

Peter wanted to die.

* * *

Bruce told them that it was good, beneficial even, if they all talked to Tony like normal and tried to get him to engage with his surroundings. The next time Peter went inside to hold his hand, he rambled like he always did when the two of them were working in the lab and tried not to hurt so bad. He refused to leave the room except when forced by everyone around him to complete basic tasks to survive and give Pepper and Rhodey some time to themselves. But otherwise, Peter gripped Tony's hand like a lifeline praying he would hold it back. By the third day he could hear May whispering about how it wasn't good for him to be stuck there in that room like he was caught in time, he had a life to live, school to go to, finals to study for, but he couldn't leave. He couldn't. And the desperation must have poured out of him, flooded the room so much that even Tony picked up on it because like he always did, Tony rescued Peter.

On the fourth day, just before Peter knew his aunt would try and have a talk with him, Tony woke up. Peter had his hand in his as usual and couldn't stop talking. The silence was stifling and he couldn't bear to hear it anymore and his mouth wouldn't stop moving. "Everyone's getting worried now Mr. Stark, this is where you could swoop in and be the hero you know. Not that you're not already a hero. You're the best hero, the greatest. But still, there's always room for improvement."

"I don't even know if you can actually hear me you know. Dr. Banner says you can. But if you can, what do I have to say to get you to wake up? I'll say anything. I'll do anything. Just, please Mr. Stark. I don't want to go, but May's gonna make me and I don't want to go, please. Please." But Tony didn't respond and Peter felt his heart tumble.

Peter pulled out his calculus book, doing some of the homework Ned texted him about, leaning the binder against the mattress. Math helped him calm down somewhat, the formality of the equations, the straightforwardness of the method. It was soothing. He was engrossed in integrals when he swore he saw Tony's hand twitch. Not even daring to breathe, Peter grabbed for his hand, holding it tight to feel for any sense of movement. "Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark are you waking up? Mr. Stark please, if you can hear me, squeeze your hand."

But his hand didn't move, not even a fraction of an inch but Peter refused to be disappointed, he refused. "Come on Mr. Stark, I know you can do it. I know you're in there. Come on, come on, just squeeze my hand so I know you're there. Please, please, please."

Ten seconds. Twenty seconds. Thirty seconds and nothing and Peter felt his grip loosen when, shaky and weak, Tony's hand squeezed back. Peter's heart went erratic, he wanted to whoop, he wanted to do fucking cartwheels, "Mr. Stark, can you hear me?"

Seconds that felt like eternity passed.

And like a miracle, Tony's warm, warm eyes fluttered open, his expression softening. "I hear you kid."

And his voice was raspy with disuse but Peter didn't care because Tony was _awake_ and he was _alive_ and he had never been more grateful for anything in his entire life. "Mr. Stark." Peter sobbed, throwing himself against the man, wrapping him tight. "Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark." He repeated, face pressed against his neck.

Slowly, like he was trying to go faster but just couldn't, Tony hugged him back, sighing into his shoulder, "It's alright Peter. We're alright. I heard you. I heard it all."

And suddenly the room was full of people all yelling Tony's name and everyone was hugging him and crying tears of joy and Peter's heart broke at the surprise on Tony's face when he saw everyone gathered around him. "Don't you all have day jobs?" he asked, badly hiding how overwhelmed with emotion he was.

"And miss your dramatic re-entry into the land of the living?" Rhodey joked, though his eyes remained red rimmed, "Not a chance."

And it was only later, after they all came down from the high and could breathe easier, that it hit Peter that Tony had said he had heard it all. Panic burst through him at the thought that he had blown his own surprise before it happened but determined to do it right, Peter sought Tony out in his gurney after having been forced to go eat by Pepper and May to set the record straight. Tony was strangely alone, sitting upright in the gurney after having been given strict orders by Bruce (to be enforced by Thor) that he rest more despite all the rest he'd already had, though Bruce was quick to point out coma rest was not rest, rest.

Tony looked almost afraid when he saw Peter walk in but waved, with an affectionate smile, "Hey kid, what's up?"

"Mr. Stark," Peter began, deciding to just get right to the point, "Were you awake the whole time? Like, in your head awake?"

Tony seemed to deflate, leaning back against the headboard, "You mean did I hear everything you guys were saying to me?"

Peter nodded seriously.

"I don't know if I heard all of it to be honest. Everything's hazy. But I heard enough." Tony closed his eyes, "I heard enough."

"Well I want you to forget about what I said. All of it. Because I- I wanted to say all that at a better time and I kind of ruined it I know, but- but I still want to do it right," Peter caught Tony's strained expression and faltered, suddenly feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.

What if Tony didn't want him seeing him as a father figure? What if he thought it was weird or a hassle or oh my God Peter hadn't thought this through at all. But sensing his panic, Tony reached out, grasping Peter's arm. "Pete, I need you to dial down the overthinking would you? You're giving _me_ a migraine."

"I'm sorry Mr. Stark I'm sorry, I didn't- I didn't-"

"Hey." Mr. Stark caught his eye, strong and steady, "Peter, anything you have to say to me, I wanna hear it, regardless of whether or not I think I deserve it." His self-deprecating smile was too much for Peter, who wanted to spring into action, but Tony kept his hand on his arm and silenced him with a look, "I heard a lot of things when I was asleep and I don't know how much credit I can take for waking up, but I never tried so hard at anything than when I heard you talking to me that first time."

"I never want to hear you like that ever again." Tony's voice shook so imperceptibly Peter barely even caught it, "I never want to put you through that ever again. I'm sorry Peter. I'm so sorry. Especially because I can't promise you that something like this won't happen again. But what I can promise you is that I'm always going to do my best to come home, that I'll move heaven and earth and the entire goddamn universe to make it back. And I know you don't want me to mention it, but you're the son I never had, and we can both forget about this until whenever you want to bring it up again, but that's the truth and as someone who was in a coma for four days I think I'm entitled to say it."

Peter ducked his head, feeling everything inside him swell with too many emotions to bear with. Tony laughed a little at him, wet and relieved, "Don't get all emotional on me Parker, I might catch something." He joked, pulling the boy into him for a hug.

Peter sniffed, "You can't catch feelings Mr. Stark, that's just a saying."

He paused before, "And we're definitely forgetting about this because I had a whole thing planned and your need for dramatics is _not_ gonna ruin it."

Tony laughed, hugging him tighter. "Okay kid. Whatever you say."

* * *

Tony makes him go to school on Monday even though he's still technically bedridden and Peter doesn't want to leave. But with his insisting and May's cajoling, Peter reluctantly dragged himself out of the Tower, promising repeatedly that he'd come back as soon as he could and that if Tony got bored he could totally text him because Peter was a _master_ at texting in class. And Tony fixed him with his patented exasperatedly fond smile and ruffled his hair goodbye and told him to focus for the love of all things good and holy.

For some reason, Peter felt weirdly nervous to be going back. It was the last two weeks of school and everyone was supposed to be feeling stressed for exams but also delirious with anticipation that it was all almost over. He felt nothing much about either of those things and just two tonnes of relief. But when he walked through Midtown's doors, for the first time in his life, he was bombarded with kids rushing at him all shouting questions and trying to grab his arms.

"Is Iron Man okay?"

"Did he die?"

"Have you seen him? Is Tony Stark okay?"

"Peter!"

Overwhelmed, Peter stumbled back, mouth sputtering as he tried to think of something to say. God this was just high school, the paparazzi must be a million times worse, how did anyone deal with this? But like freaking Jesus, Ned pushed his way through the crowd, reaching for Peter's hand and tugging him through. "Guys what's wrong with all of you, leave him alone."

A girl jut out of the mob, hand on her hip, "What's the big deal Ned, we just want to know if knows anything."

"Doesn't mean you should harass him." Ned glared.

"We're not harassing him, we're just-"

But Peter interrupted her, "Mr. Stark's fine. He's getting better and should be released from care today. Now please leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it."

And mustering all his bravado, Peter turned around, and walked away.

True to his word, Peter texted Tony sporadically throughout the day just to check in on how he was feeling and if he was okay. He could practically see Tony rolling his eyes through the screen as he gave him a quick one liner to say he was okay and a command to focus on school. But try as he might, which, admittedly, wasn't very hard, Peter's thoughts always wandered back to MedBay and the idea running through his brain.

Twenty minutes before school ended, Tony texted him saying Helen and Bruce had finally agreed on discharging him and that he was as good as new. That had to be a sign. So when the bell rang for dismissal, Peter said a quick goodbye to Ned and shot out the doors, detouring back to his apartment before going to the tower to pick up a few special things.

Tony seemed to be expecting him, looking unsurprised when Peter burst into the common room to see him drinking a cup of coffee and going through some emails on his tablet.

"Mr. Stark! Today's the day!" Peter announced, swinging his backpack down onto the floor to open it up.

Tony raised a brow, "Yeah? The delayed day?" he teased.

Peter twisted his lip, "Haha, Mr. Stark, very funny. But first, are you sure you're okay? I don't want to drain you or anything."

Tony stretched his arms behind his head exaggeratingly, making a face, "I've never felt younger or sprightlier in my entire life Peter, how dare you."

Raising his hands defensively, Peter laughed, "Okay, okay, just checking."

Peter pulled out a box wrapped in obnoxiously orange wrapping paper and plopped it on the coffee table. "Okay, so let's pretend it's the sixteenth okay, and I've just walked in and I said Mr. Stark! Do you know what today is? And then you'd say, Saturday? And I'd be like wrong! But this'll help you figure it out."

Peter gestured for Tony to unwrap the gift and Tony shook his head, laughing slightly, his fingers shaking ever so slightly as he ripped into it. Inside were two of those cheap robots for kids that you had battle in the schoolyard when teachers weren't looking. At Tony's confused expression, Peter burst into a fit of giggles. "So we bond over a lot of things like tv shows and basketball and superheroing and Happy being mean to us, but most of all, we bond over making things and I thought we could have a robot battle match to the death!" Peter grinned, "After upgrading them ourselves of course."

Tony whistled, "You think you can beat me in robot wrestling? I'll have you know I was an MIT _champ_."

Peter shrugged, a shit eating grin on his face, "Yeah, maybe. But times definitely have changed since then, how long has it even been? Seventy years?"

Peter burst into laughter at Tony's indignant "How DARE-" as he pinched his nose.

Peter gathered the toys in his arms and they walked to the lab together, each of them going into their own corners and pretending to be overly protective of if the other person saw what they were doing. Tony kept yelling "Cheater! Spy! SHIELD AGENT!" every time Peter so much as looked in his direction and the poor kid kept laughing too hard to even focus on his bot.

The time limit was one hour and when FRIDAY started beeping to signal the end, Peter looked at his monstrosity of a creation and burst into giggles again. He had given it wings and two hammers for hands and had spray painted it a bright fushia for kicks. On the back he wrote Stank Industries to honor Rhodey and had installed one secret weapon right in the chest in the shape of an arc reactor.

Tony's, of course, was painted red and blue with big baby eyes painted on. Peter rolled his eyes. Spiderbaby indeed.

Clearing a space on the floor, Tony drew a large red circle and placed both contestants in the middle. "This is a fight to the death, are you prepared for the consequences?" he asked gravely.

Peter nodded, matching his seriousness, "I accept these terms and only wish you have already gotten your affairs in order."

"Oh, when I'm done with you, you even have anything to offer."

Their eye contact sizzled with intensity before they both pressed hard on the X button and their robots came to life and immediately set about beating the absolute crap out of each other. Peter's rose into the air to dive bomb into Tony's, it's hammer hands clattering against the other's shoulder plates. Tony's retaliated by trying to slice through Peter's wiring but he jerked the bot back, pulling at his lip in concentration.

The two clashed and clashed, both of them having plates falling off and scratches ruing the design, but Peter could feel his slowly dying and in one last ditch effort, he lurched his bot into Tony's direction, pressing the button to set off his secret weapon. An electric pulse surged from his bot into Tony's and both robots convulsed before, together, they plummeted to the ground in a sad hiss.

"Oh my God. I killed myself!" Peter wailed as Tony looked caught between being horrified and guffawing.

"That was your secret weapon? An overloading blast?" Unable to take it, Tony burst into laughter, "Genius!"

"Oh hush." Peter sulked, "It's still technically a tie."

"Yeah, but you had off your bot to do it, oh man."

Peter's lip quirked without him meaning it to. "Hah. Yeah, poor guy, he never even ke what was coming." And suddenly they were both laughing together and Peter felt the kind of lightness in his heart he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

After they had gotten everything cleaned up and they were celebrating their valor and honor in battle over brownies, Peter glanced at the clock and sighed. "I have to go back home now to study for my stupid exams, but there's one last part of my gift I have to give you."

Peter rummaged through his bag to pull out a much smaller box and hesitated before handing it over. "Mr. Stark, I had a lot of fun today and um, I always have a lot of fun whenever we work together or just hang out and whenever something good happens, I want to tell you and May first and whenever something bad happens, you're always the first one I think to call."

Peter ducked his head, Tony's struck expression a little too much for him, "And I just wanted you to know that um, well, I never want anything more from you than just you know, _you_ , and um, I appreciate everything you give me and every opportunity you make for me, like I appreciate it insanely a lot, you have no idea, but I never want you think that that's why I, uh, well, why I love you I guess, and um yeah! So here's this! I made it for you! And I hope you like it! But I gotta go, like right now, so um, bye Mr. Stark! I'll see you later!"

And Peter turned high tail out of there and bolted, his face redder than it had ever been.

Tony watched him go, for once robbed of a witty comeback or quick joke to lighten the mood. He had never thought his life would have come to this. Never in the past fourty odd years had he thought he would become a mentor, let alone a father-figure, to a kid who was so bright he made the sun look like a matchstick. He didn't know what he done to deserve ths, what he had done to keep that admiration in Peter's eyes or the faith Peter had that Tony would keep him safe or the love in Peter's smile when he waved hello. Tony didn't know what he done in his years of mistakes and regrets and should've-known-betters to be seen as someone who could guide the next generation and be a pillar of support when everyone around him consistently told him he drew up short.

To be enough, in the eyes of a child, was more than enough redemption, than Tony ever thought he would have.

And he loved Peter. Loved him more than he thought he could ever love someone after everything his heart had suffered. Betrayals made him distrustful despite every fibre in his being wanting not to be. But Peter defied all the odds- like he always did- and now Tony can't even remember what it was like to not constantly be worried about Peter when he patrolled or not refreshing on high school English to help him on his essays or just watching a tv show just to watch it. Tony wanted to be there. Wanted to see Peter graduate with his bachelors, get his first job, launch his first start-up, get a masters, travel the world on his own, get his first girlfriend, get married, have his own kids someday.

Tony never thought he wanted the domestic life. But the older he got and the more his heart warmed with the love of those around him, the more he wanted to retire and host dinner parties and have big family Christmases and Thanksgiving dinners. He wanted to watch Peter grow up and be there along for every step of the way. He wanted to be the dad he never had when he needed it.

With too many emotions in his heart, Tony unwrapped the gift to find a sleek USB. Twisting it in his fingers, Tony got up from the couch to find a computer. Tony inserted the USB into the slot, waiting for the icon to show up before opening the only file on it: _Love, Peter_. The screen opened up black, soft music playing in the background until the text began appearing and Tony felt floored to his chair, his heart battering, overwhelmed and fit to burst.

 _What makes a dad?_

Peter's first ever video diary with Tony in it shows up, the one of them in the car where Tony waves to May and Peter, who looks so much younger, grinning in that awkward way of his.

"Is that a video diary?"

 _Encouraging_

Tony's holding a camera as he films Peter smacking the button to answer the final Decathlon question, shooting up from his seat, the perspective blurring as he whooped for joy, Peter turning to stare right at him, beaming.

The video pans out to capture Peter's framed photographs on Tony's wall and then shifts into a snapchat video of Peter trying to put a filter on Tony and May while the two chatter not noticing. Tony glances over at him, turning back to May before snapping his neck towards Peter rolling his eyes. "Kid, come on. For someone so talented you think it'd take you less than ten years to put a puppy dog filter on us."

"Hey!" Peter protested, "I'm just waiting for the tongues to sync! And I'm still just an amateur."

Tony spread his arms over the couch, leaning back. "Are you kidding? You're better than most of those pretentious art nerds I meet every time Pepper drags me to an opening. Your photos are way more evocative, definitely superior. Maybe we should get you into a gallery…"

"Mr. Stark!" Peter screeched.

"Wait, you weren't filming that were you!"

The shot goes into a news segment, Tony wishing his helmet away as he stares into the camera, a proud smile on his face. "Spiderman? That guy's gonna surpass all of us. He's the best of us and one day you're all going to see it."

 _Guiding_

"This is test number three of RoboDog starring RoboDog, Mr. Stark, and me!" Peter's cheery voice is behind the camera as he zooms in on the robot in the centre of the room.

"Testing in three, two, one…" he presses a button and the dog whirs to life, wagging its metal tail. "Oh my God, it's working, Mr. Stark it's working! Come here boy, come here!"

The dog tries to wander its way over but its circuits start to smoke and it convulses before collapsing onto the ground. "ROBODOG!" Peter wails, the camera drifting its focus lower in grief.

Tony comes up behind him, his voice closer to the camera. "It's okay bud, we probably just need to stop overloading the circuitry. We can rewire it and try again. I'll show you how, but that was a good effort."

"Youtube is the worst teacher." Peter sulked.

"Youtube? You have a genius in your presence whenever you want and you learn from Youtube?"

The scenery changes to the apartment where May is giggling behind her phone, "A wild Tony Stark has been captured and tamed by the little Peter Parker as the child coerces him into doing his physics homework for him."

She zooms in on the dinner table where Peter is sitting, nose scrunched and pencil tapping against the tabletop as Tony scribbles formulas down on the page, his expression kind as he talks him through the steps.

The next video is a close up of Peter's beaming face as he waves a test sheet in the air, "Mr. Stark, I got an A!"

 _Down for shenanigans_

Peter is bouncing in his seat, "Mr. Stark! Mr. Stark! Do the thing!"

Tony groans, "Tell me this isn't going all over the internet."

"Noooo just Ned. And MJ. And May. And maybe Colonel Rhodes, and Thor and-"

Tony held up a tired hand, "Okay, okay. Teenagers are the worst. Just give me the line."

Peter huffs in a big breath, "How did you take down Captain America?"

Tony, looking dead inside, "We shot him in ze legs because his shield is the size of a dinner plate and he's an idiot."

Peter cackled and Tony couldn't help but quirk a grin.

A scene change and, "Peter, are you in position?" Tony asked from the opposite end of the hallway.

Peter shot a thumbs up.

"Okay pranking Rhodey starts….now!"

A shriek followed by a "TONY!" sent his mentor into a fit of giggles as he gestured for Peter to run.

"Quick! He doesn't know you're here, save yourself kid!"

The last clip definitely came from FRIDAY judging from the perspective and before it played Tony knew exactly what it would be. True to his guess, it showed him glancing up to Peter as they were both caught up in working, saying, "I'm bored. Wanna blow stuff up?"

"YEAH."

What a little arsonist.

 _Caring_

Landscape shots of all the Spidermango Blast ice cream in the freezer played on screen, followed by a shot of Tony working on the Spiderman suit, a plate of food Tony had left for him and a montage of photos snapped throughout the two years of Tony laughing into Peter's hair, arm thrown around him and of so many moments where Tony looked at him with a softness he had never thought possible.

Another clip from FRIDAY of Peter falling asleep on his shoulder during a movie, Tony at the counter drinking coffee, smiling as Peter walked in from the elevator. He raised his mug in greeting, "Hey kid, test go well?"

Peter perked up, "You remembered?"

"Of course I did. I helped you prep didn't I?"

 _Protective_

A photo May took of Tony trying to beat a seagull away from Peter's fries at Disneyland, a picture of Peter with three scarves thrown atop of him and double mittens when there was a cold front warning and Tony thought his "spider sensitivities" would make him colder. A picture of Tony on his phone with the caption "helicopter mom" blaring in bright pink letters.

 _Always there to catch you_

The screen faded to black, a familiar audio recording playing.

"Hey Mr. Stark? How fast do you think I'd land on the ground if I fell from up here?"

There was a pause and a thoughtful hum, "Fifty-eight seconds." Tony finally said.

"What? That math is all wrong, if you take in my weight and the height-"

"Kid, you really think I'd ever let you fall? The math is twenty seconds for the suit to form and ten for me to catch you and twenty-eight for us to land on the ground."

 _What makes a dad?_

 _It's the man I look up to more than anyone else, who inspires me to be better than I was and gives me a goal to work towards. It's the man I call when I need help or advice or someone to talk to or even show a meme I know he wouldn't understand. It's the man who's there for you when no one else is and who's on your side no matter what._

 _And it doesn't matter what kind of car he drives or what he does for a living or anything else because it's about all the little moments that make up a big feeling of a bigger truth that's love. It's spending time with that person and it doesn't matter where or what you're doing, because everything's fun when you're doing it with them. A dad is a rock you rely on, a constant._

A video of Peter appears, looking awkward but brave. "I never thought I'd get another father-figure again. And now that I have, I'm so glad that it's you. You're one of the best things that ever happened to me too." He smiles before the screen fades to black again.

 _Happy Father's Day_

Pulling out his phone immediately, Tony knew that he didn't have the words to express the love that he felt, but he hoped this one voice note would be enough.

"Hey Pete, I know this is the only father's day gift I've ever gotten, but it's definitely the best one I've ever received and every other gift I get from this point out is just never going to be able to compete. Inferiority complexes for life. We may not be bound by something as arbitrary as blood, but you're my kid Peter. Always will be. You can count on it."

* * *

Two and a half weeks later, Peter walked out of his last exam and felt freer than he'd ever felt. He'd done it. Graduated from the school system, with all the bells and whistles, confirmed his acceptance to MIT, already had a grad trip planned with his friends, and had finally entered a brand new chapter of his life. So of course, in typical Tony fashion, he invited Peter up with his usual coy secretiveness and Peter felt the small twinkle of excitement thrumming through him. After he had given Tony his gift, he thought things might get a little awkward, at least for a little bit, but if it was possible, the opposite happened. He felt like a whole other layer of depth had been unlocked and his relationship with Tony had never felt more concrete and certain.

Tony's text told him to meet him in the garage and curious, Peter poked his head in to see Tony scrubbing away at a pretty dusty car that looked like it came out of the 2000's. Hearing his approach, Tony waved, "Hey Peter, congratulations on the new car."

For Peter, Tony would unlearn the negative conceptions of love his father taught him by throwing money at his son whenever his coldness got too much even for Howard. For Peter, he would be better at expression and understanding and being there as just Tony. Quality time with Peter was something Tony would never get bored of and would always crave. So building a car together instead of buying one was the perfect way Tony could think of to show Peter he loved him in a way Peter would understand and appreciate. Plus, it never hurt to see his ridiculously cute confused face.

Peter blinked, "Wh-what?"

"So I know this is like, the most cliché thing a father son duo can do, but I thought it would be a good summer project before you head to university to build your own car to take you to your next step in your very, very long life."

"Mr. Stark I- I holy shit. We're gonna build a car? And I get to keep it?" The excitement rose exponentially with every word he said.

Tony shot him his usual I've-won-at-love grin and spread out his arms. "It's all yours kid. Granted we get it to drive and put some cool specs in there for kicks."

Shooting like a rocket, Peter barrelled into Tony in a hug, squeezing tight. "Thank you! Thank you! This is the best surprise ever! It's gonna be so much fun!"

Wrapping his arms around him, Tony smiled into his hair, "You bet it is. Now hand me that wrench we have some disassembling to do."

* * *

 **A/N Gosh this was a goliath but I'm so glad I finally got around to finishing it. I hope you enjoyed all the irondad fluff and check me out at ironfamjam on tumblr for more of my writing stuff!**


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